e^Cai^ceU&rS/niih 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 
in  2018  with  funding  from 
Getty  Research  Institute 


https://archive.org/details/diamondspearlsprOOsmit_O 


EMERALD  PROM  THE  MUSO  MINE,  BOGOTA,  COLOMBIA,  SOUTH  AMERICA 


DIAMONDS,  PEARLS 
and  PRECIOUS  STONES 

WHERE  THEY  ARE  FOUND, 

HOW  CUT,  AND  MADE 
READY  FOR  USE  IN  THE 
JEWELER’S  ART,  THEIR 
COMPOSITION  AND  VALUE 

By 

MARCELL  N.  SMITH 


WITH  SIXTEEN 
ILLUSTRATIONS 


SECOND  EDITION 


Printed  for  SMITH  PATTERSON  COMPANY  by 
ATLANTIC  PRINTING  COMPANY,  BOSTON,  MASS. 

1914 


COPYRIGHT  BY  MARCELL  N.  SMITH 
BOSTON,  MASS.,  1913 

PUBLISHED  DECEMBER,  I9I3 


THE  GETTY  CtH 

LIBRARY 


Co  <©ur  Customers? 

tofeose  lopal  support  for  more 
t&an  tf)trtp  =  fioe  pears  fcas 
been  a  constant  Ijelp  tn  our 
enbeabor  to  serPe  them  better 


Preface 


The  purpose  of  this  book  has  been  primarily 
to  give  assistance  to  the  employees  of  the 
Smith  Patterson  Company  in  understanding 
more  fully  the  diamond,  pearl,  and  colored  gem 
business  by  giving  them,  in  a  condensed  and 
accurate  form,  information  that  the  writer  con¬ 
siders  useful.  Although  he  is  aware  that  many 
larger  works  already  exist  which  cover  the 
field  in  a  most  excellent  and  comprehensive 
manner,  yet  from  the  very  fact  that  there  is 
such  an  excellent  body  of  gem  literature,  it 
is  often  hard  to  obtain  a  concise  and  accurate 
idea  of  the  most  interesting  points  in  this  field 
without  the  labor  of  extensive  study. 

The  object  of  the  writer  has  been  to  present 
the  most  important  facts  concerning  the  nature 
of  diamonds,  pearls,  and  other  gems,  and  the 
most  interesting  aspects  in  the  work  of  discover¬ 
ing  and  cutting  or  preparing  gems  for  the  arts, 
and  to  give  such  facts  as  will  be  of  interest  not 
only  to  the  man  in  the  business,  but  also  to 
many  admirers  of  precious  stones. 


In  preparing  the  following  pages  the  works  of 
many  authors  have  been  drawn  from.  In 
particular  the  writer  acknowledges  valuable 
assistance  from: 

“Diamond  Mines  of  South  Africa,”  by  G.  F. 
Williams.  “A  Book  of  Precious  Stones,”  by  Julius 
Wodiska.  “Precious  Stones  and  Gems,”  by  E.  W. 
Streeter.  “Gems  and  Gem  Minerals,”  by  Dr.  0.  C.  Far¬ 
rington.  “Hand  Book  of  Precious  Stones,”  by  M.  D. 
Rothschild.  “Gem  Cutter’s  Craft,”  by  Leopold  Clare¬ 
mont. 

He  is  also  under  obligations  for  valuable  assistance 
rendered  by  Mr.  Ernest  G.  H.  Schenck,  Mr.  Ludwig  Nissen, 
Mr.  Henry  Kryn,  Mr.  Lucien  Zell,  Mr.  Joshua  W. 
Mayer,  and  to  his  son,  Nelson  H.  Smith,  for  aid  in  pre¬ 
paring  the  volume;  and  to  Messrs.  Schenck  &  Van  Haelen 
for  original  photographs  of  their  cutting  establishment; 
Mr.  Julius  Wodiska  for  assistance  and  illustrations 
from  “A  Book  of  Precious  Stones”;  Mr.  Meyer  D.  Roths¬ 
child  for  assistance  and  illustrations  from  the  mines  of 
the  American  Gem  &  Pearl  Co.;  J.  B.  Lippincott  Co. 
for  illustration  from  W.  R.  Cattelle’s  book,  “The  Pearl”; 
G.  P.  Putnam’s  Sons  for  colored  illustration,  “Emeralds 
from  Muso  Mine.” 


Contents 


Page 

The  Diamond . n 

The  Cutting  and  Polishing  of  Diamonds  ...  24 

Diamond  Mountings . 39 

The  Pearl . 42 

The  Tariff  on  Diamonds,  Pearls,  and  Precious 

Stones . 50 

Precious  and  Semiprecious  Stones . 53 

The  Ruby . 54 

The  Sapphire . 58 

The  Emerald . 62 

The  Aquamarine . 65 

The  Tourmaline . 67 

The  Alexandrite . 70 

The  Opal . 72 

The  Amethyst . 74 

The  Moonstone . 76 

The  Turquoise  . 77 

The  Chrysolite  . 79 

The  Spinel  . 81 

The  Topaz . 84 

The  Garnet . 87 

The  Zircon  . 91 

Lapis  Lazuli . 92 

Hiddenite  and  Kunzite  . 94 

Table  of  Precious  and  Semiprecious  Stones  .  .  96 


I  LLUSTRATIONS 


Emerald  from  the  Muso  Mine,  Bogota,  Colombia,  South 

America . Frontispiece 

Facing 

Page 

One  Day’s  Diamond  Wash  at  the  Kimberley  Mines  ....  12 

Kafir  Employees  Gambling  in  the  Compound,  Kimberley 
Mines . 16 

The  Cullinan  Diamond . 18 

Actual  size  in  the  rough. 

Sorting  the  Gravel  for  Diamonds  at  the  Kimberley  Mines  .  22 

The  Cullinan  Diamond . 26 

All  the  stones  illustrated  were  cut  from  the  Cullinan  Diamond 
and  are  here  shown  half  actual  size. 

The  Diamond  Saw . 28 

The  saw  with  diamond  being  sawed  is  seen  at  the  left  of  the 
bench. 


The  Cutting  of  a  Diamond . 30 

One  stone  is  seen  in  the  lathe,  while  the  other  is  fixed  in  the  end 
of  the  tool  held  by  the  workman. 

The  Diamond  Polisher’s  Wheel  . 32 

The  workman  is  adjusting  the  dop  containing  a  diamond,  pre¬ 
paratory  to  polishing. 

Office  of  a  Diamond-Cutting  Establishment . 38 

Schenck  &  Van  Haelen,  New  York. 

The  Rajah  of  Dholpur . 44 

Whose  pearls  were  valued  at  $7,500,000. 

Native  Indian  Ruby  Cutter  at  Work . 54 

Gem  Cutting  in  Ceylon . 58 

Aquamarine  Mine,  Mitchell  County,  North  Carolina  .  .  66 

Tourmaline  Mine,  Palo,  California . 68 

Scene  in  Azure  Turquoise  Mine,  New  Mexico . 78 


The  Diamond 


The  diamond  is  composed  solely  of  pure 
carbon  and  is  the  hardest  substance  known, 
being  No.  io  on  the  Mohl  scale.  It  is  found  in 
South  Africa,  Brazil,  India,  Borneo,  in  the 
Ural  Mountains,  and  in  the  United  States. 

The  ancient  supply  of  diamonds  came  prob¬ 
ably  from  India.  Although  we  hear  of  dia¬ 
monds  in  very  early  times,  yet  the  ancient 
Indian  mines  were  apparently  the  first  source 
of  supply  and  continued  so  until  diamonds 
were  found  in  Borneo,  which  was  only  in  small 
amounts,  and  later  more  largely  in  Brazil. 
The  Brazilian  mines  were  discovered  in  1727 
and  were  later  mined  extensively.  Mr.  Edwin 
W.  Streeter,  the  London  jeweler,  in  his  book 
published  in  1879,  states  that  about  1845 
there  were  twenty-five  thousand  people  en¬ 
gaged  in  diamond  digging  in  Brazil. 

In  South  Africa  diamonds  were  first  found 
in  1867.  The  first  diggings  —  they  could  hardly 
be  called  mines  —  were  along  the  Vaal  River. 
These  river  diggings  were  of  considerable  extent, 


Brazilian 

Mines 


South 

African 

Mines 


12 


DIAMONDS 


Kimberley 

Mines 


and  a  large  number  of  miners  from  all  parts 
of  the  world  were  engaged  in  searching  for 
stones.  Their  methods,  however,  were  very- 
crude.  The  famous  rush  to  Kimberley  began 
in  1870,  when  a  fine  fifty-carat  diamond  was 
found  on  the  Jagersfontein  farm.  The  thrifty 
widow  who  was  then  the  owner  of  the  farm 
let  the  right  to  dig  diamonds  at  £2  per  month 
for  a  claim  of  twenty  feet  square.  Important 
diamonds  were  next  discovered  on  the  Dutoits- 
fontein  farm,  and  soon  diamonds  were  also 
found  on  the  Bulfontein  farm  located  just 
across  the  highway. 

The  Kimberley  mines  were  discovered  in 
1871,  and  the  DeBeers  and  Wesselton  about 
the  same  time.  It  is  needless  to  say  that  the 
system  of  leasing  claims  did  not  last  very 
long,  and  that  these  various  farms  were  soon 
bought  by  miners.  For  some  time,  however, 
the  various  claims  were  worked  by  one  or  two 
men  to  each  claim,  then  by  larger  partnerships, 
and  later  by  large  French  and  English  mining 
companies. 

In  1872  Cecil  J.  Rhodes,  then  a  student  at 
Oxford  University,  on  account  of  ill  health  went 
to  South  Africa.  He  went  first  to  the  plantation 
of  his  brother,  Herbert  Rhodes,  who  had  also 
become  interested  in  diamond  mining.  A 


ONE  DAY’S  DIAMOND  WASH  AT  THE  KIMBERLEY  MINES 


DIAMONDS 


13 


year  later  he  joined  his  brother  in  his  mining 
ventures.  This  same  year,  1873,  Barnett  J. 

Barnatto  came  from  London  to  join  his  brother, 

Henry,  at  Kimberley,  as  a  buyer  of  rough  dia¬ 
monds.  Both  Rhodes  and  Barnatto  soon 
acquired  some  property  and  became  interested 
as  small  mine  owners.  They  increased  these 
holdings  rapidly,  until  after  a  time  both  saw 
the  need  of  combination  in  mine  ownership 
and  especially  the  need  of  scientific  management 
in  operating  the  mines.  In  1888,  they,  with 
Messrs.  Rothschild,  Alfred  Beit,  and  other 
able  mining  men,  formed  the  DeBeers  Con-  The  DeBeers 
solidated  Mines,  Ltd.  Since  the  formation  of  C°mPany 
this  company  the  mines  have  been  developed 
along  scientific  lines  by  an  extremely  able 
management,  resulting  in  great  benefit  to  the 
company  and  also  to  the  world. 

Since  the  formation  of  the  syndicate  the 
price  of  the  gems  has  never  been  allowed  to 
break,  —  even  in  times  of  the  greatest  com¬ 
mercial  depression.  In  the  early  days  of 
diamond  mining,  on  the  other  hand,  and 
especially  in  India  and  Brazil,  prices  sometimes 
fluctuated  very  widely.  Mr.  Streeter,  as  an 
example,  states  that  at  the  time  of  the  com¬ 
mercial  crisis  of  1857  the  prices  of  Brazilian 
diamonds  fell  toone  half  that  of  the  year  previous. 


14 


DIAMONDS 


The  Indian  diamonds  also  fluctuated  greatly  in 
price  according  to  the  supply  and  the  demand. 
Indian  The  diamond  mines  of  India  were  principally 
Mines  *n  tjie  vicinjty  0f  Golconda.  They  were  of  such 
importance  that  in  1669  the  traveler  Tavernier 
reported  that  sixty  thousand  men  were  em¬ 
ployed  in  the  work.  Now,  however,  this  field 
is  practically  abandoned,  and  diamond  mining 
in  India  is  at  present  carried  on  only  on  a  small 
scale  by  families  who  do  the  work  in  a  very 
crude  fashion.  Nevertheless,  from  the  ancient 
Indian  mines  came  many  of  the  famous  dia¬ 
monds  of  the  world:  the  Kohinoor,  the  Great 
Mogul,  the  Blue  Hope,  and  others. 

The  Brazilian  mines,  which  were  practically 
only  river  diggings,  were  originally  government 
property  and  were  worked  mainly  by  slaves. 
The  slaves,  while  constantly  watched  and 
severely  punished  if  detected,  still  managed  to 
secrete  and  steal  a  large  percentage  of  all  the 
Brazilian  diamonds  found.  The  Brazilian  diamonds  were 
Diamonds  practicaiiy  a}|  small  stones,  very  few  being 
above  fifteen  or  twenty  carats  in  the  rough. 
Some  were  very  fine,  while  others  were  quite 
poor.  The  supply  from  Brazil  at  first  frightened 
the  Indian  miners  and  reports  were  spread  that 
the  Brazilian  stones  were  simply  the  refuse  of 
the  Indian  mines  shipped  to  Brazil.  The 


DIAMONDS 


15 


Portuguese  of  Brazil,  however,  effectually  turned 
the  tables  by  shipping  their  diamonds  to  India, 
where  they  were  sold  as  Indian  stones  at  the 
market  price.  The  height  of  the  Brazilian 
mines  appears  to  have  been  reached  about 
the  years  1861  to  1867.  During  that  period 
there  were  shipped  from  Diamantina  about 
ten  million  dollars’  worth  of  rough  diamonds. 

In  comparing  the  mining  in  Brazil  and  Workmen  in 
India  to  that  in  South  Africa,  it  will  be  ^^s^ncan 
noted  that,  not  only  does  the  diamond  mining 
in  South  Africa  stand  on  a  much  higher  level, 
in  that  the  mines  are  worked  by  the  most  up- 
to-date  appliances  and  machinery,  but  also 
that  the  men  employed  in  the  mines  are  very 
carefully  watched  to  prevent  theft.  These 
employees,  mostly  natives,  —  many  thousands 
of  the  Zulu  and  other  warlike  tribes  being  in¬ 
cluded,  —  are  all  required  to  sign  an  agreement 
to  remain  three  months  or  more  in  the  employ 
of  the  company.  After  signing  this  they  are 
carefully  examined,  first,  to  see  that  there  is 
no  contaminating  disease  among  them,  and 
they  are  also  thoroughly  searched,  not  being 
allowed  to  take  with  them  clothing  in  which 
diamonds  could  be  easily  secreted,  —  shoes,  for 
instance,  in  the  heels  of  which  diamonds  could 
be  concealed.  They  are  then  admitted  into  the 


i6 


DIAMONDS 


compound  or  walled  enclosure,  within  which 
they  must  remain  constantly  during  the  whole 
period  of  their  work  until  they  are  discharged 
from  the  mines. 

Life  in  the  These  compounds  are  some  seventeen  in 
Compound  number>  the  largest  be;ng 

at  the  DeBeers 
mines,  where  four  acres  are  enclosed;  the  walls 
are  ten  feet  in  height  and  the  compound  is 
covered  with  a  fine  wire  screen  to  prevent  the 
throwing  of  diamonds  outside  to  a  confederate. 
The  huts  of  galvanized  iron  for  the  workmen 
are  built  in  the  compound,  and  there  is  also  a 
swimming  pool  and  other  means  of  amusement, 
so  that  the  natives,  while  virtually  prisoners 
within  the  compound,  are  well  cared  for.  When 
they  leave  the  employ  of  the  company  they 
are  again  searched  in  the  most  thorough  fashion, 
being  stripped  and  then  placed  in  a  detention 
room  provided  only  with  a  blanket.  Here  they 
are  kept  for  a  period  of  five  to  seven  days,  so 
that  even  if  the  men  swallow  diamonds  it  is 
impossible  for  them  to  escape  with  their  treas¬ 
ures.  Finally  they  are  given  their  old  clothes, 
which  have  been  kept  in  sacks  numbered  for 
each  man,  and  allowed  to  leave  the  compound. 

Treatment  of  The  diamonds  are  found  in  what  is  called 
Blueground  hlueground,  which  when  mined  is  about  as 
hard  as  sandstone.  After  being  excavated 


KAFIR  EMPLOYEES  GAMBLING  IN  THE  COMPOUND,  KIMBERLEY  MINES 


DIAMONDS 


1 7 


from  the  mines  the  blueground  is  conveyed  to 
the  floors  —  large  flat  areas  —  where  it  is  left 
from  three  to  six  months,  or  more,  to  soften. 
These  floors  are  very  large,  those  of  the  DeBeers 
and  Kimberley  mines  covering  two  thousand 
acres.  The  blueground  on  the  floors  is  har¬ 
rowed  by  steam  traction  engines  to  assist  in 
pulverizing  the  ground.  This,  with  the  action 
of  the  sun  and  rain,  finally  disintegrates  the 
material  so  that  it  can  be  taken  to  the  washing 
machines  or  pulsators,  as  they  are  technically 
called.  The  yield  of  diamonds  per  load  of  blue¬ 
ground  is  very  small,  but  by  the  careful  and 
comprehensive  methods  used,  practically  no  dia¬ 
monds  are  lost  and  the  total  yield  is  very  large. 

Of  the  South  African  mines  the  Kimberley 
and  DeBeers  have  until  recently  produced  most 
of  the  diamonds.  These  mines  have  now  been 
worked  so  deep,  about  three  thousand  feet,  that, 
owing  to  the  heat  and  danger  at  that  depth, 
they  are  at  present  considered  about  worked 
out  and  comparatively  few  stones  now  come 
from  these  mines.  The  Dutoitspan  mines  are 
at  present  the  largest  producing  mines  in  South 
Africa,  and  give  very  sound  material,  about  the 
same  as  that  of  the  Kimberley,  DeBeers,  and  Wes- 
selton.  The  Bulfontein  in  point  of  production 
is  the  second  largest  mine  under  the  DeBeers 


Present 
Condition  of 
Mines 


The  Cullinan 
Diamond 


18  DIAMONDS 

control.  Its  rough  runs  rather  small  in  sizes 
and  is  quite  imperfect.  From  the  Jagersfon- 
tein  mine,  commonly  called  Jagers  (pronounced 
Yagus)  are  found  some  of  the  finest  blue-white 
stones  in  the  world,  although  there  are  other 
qualities  of  stones  found  there  as  well.  The 
Premier  mine,  also  controlled  by  the  DeBeers 
Company,  produces  some  very  remarkable 
stones.  From  this  mine  came  the  famous  Cul¬ 
linan  diamond,  which  weighed  in  the  rough 
3?253M  carats.  This  stone  was  of  fine  blue- 
white  color  and  remarkably  free  from  imperfec¬ 
tions. 

The  gem  was  bought  by  the  Transvaal  Govern¬ 
ment  for  £200,000  and  was  sent  as  a  present  to 
King  Edward  VII,  who  entrusted  the  cutting  of 
the  Cullinan  to  Messrs.  Joseph  Asscher  &  Co., 
of  Amsterdam,  who  received  £10,000  for  their 
work.  From  it  were  cut,  besides  several  smaller 
stones,  two  diamonds,  each  of  which  was  larger 
than  any  other  diamond  in  the  world.  In  the 
Premier  mine  was  also  recently  found  the 
second  largest  diamond  in  the  world,  weighing 
1,640  carats.  This  stone  was  not  very  perfect 
and  was  bought  by  Mr.  Jac.  Kryn,  of  Antwerp, 
to  be  cut  into  small  stones.  The  beautiful 
deep  blue  diamonds  which  were  on  exhibition 
in  the  spring  of  1912  at  the  store  of  Smith 


THE  CULLINAN  DIAMOND 

ACTUAL  SIZE  IN  THE  ROUGH 


DIAMONDS 


19 


Patterson  Company  were  from  the  Premier 
mines.  Many  other  remarkable  stones  in 
golden  brown,  canary,  green,  etc.,  are  found  in 
the  Premier  mines. 

The  Wesselton  mines  as  a  rule  produce  fine 
white  diamonds.  The  Robert  Victor  mine,  of 
South  Africa,  is  an  independent  mine  controlled 
by  English  capital.  The  diamonds  from  this 
mine  are  of  a  very  fine  color,  but  are  also  very 
imperfect. 

In  addition  to  the  regular  mines  in  South  River 
Africa  diamonds  are  found  in  certain  rivers.  ^amom 
These  diamonds  are  now  mined  by  damming 
up  the  river  at  various  points,  pumping  it  dry 
and  dredging  it.  The  river  diamonds  in  the 
rough  can  always  be  recognized  by  their  dull 
surface,  which  is  accounted  for  by  the  scratching 
due  to  the  constant  rubbing  against  pebbles  and 
other  diamonds  while  being  carried  down  by  the 
stream.  River  diamonds  vary  very  greatly  as 
to  quality. 

Of  the  stones  found  in  the  mines  in  the  German 
German  possessions  in  South  Africa  nearly  Mines 
all  are  small  and  practically  all  are  cut  into 
melees.  They  are  largely,  however,  of  very  good 
quality,  and  a  large  part  of  the  best  melees  now 
come  from  the  German  mines. 

For  many  years  the  DeBeers  Consolidated 


20 


DIAMONDS 


London  Mines,  Ltd.,  has  sold  its  annual  production  to 
Syndicate  tjie  London  Syndicate  of  diamond  merchants, 
who  handle  most  of  the  products  of  the  mines  of 
South  Africa,  with  the  exception  of  the  German 
mines.  The  London  Syndicate’s  methods  of 
conducting  business  are  quite  unusual.  In 
general  the  procedure  is  as  follows.  When  the 
managers  have  a  lot  of  goods  for  sale  they  notify 
the  buyers  of  the  rough  who  are  on  their  list 
as  being  entitled  to  buy  from  the  Syndicate 
direct,  that  a  “sight  of  the  goods”  may  be  had 
on  a  certain  date.  The  buyer  must  declare  his 
intention  and  make  application  some  time  in 
advance  of  the  time  when  a  sight  of  the  goods 
is  expected,  in  order  to  secure  the  opportunity 
to  make  his  purchase.  If  the  favored  buyer 
who  is  allowed  to  buy  the  rough  does  not  then 
buy,  he  is  omitted  from  the  purchasing  list  for 
several  months.  The  goods  are  sold  in  lots  of 
some  $200,000  in  value  and  upwards,  and  must 
be  paid  for  in  spot  cash.  The  prices  are  absolute. 
Classification  The  goods  mined  at  South  Africa  are  sorted 
of  Diamonds  ancj  classified  at  Kimberley  as  follows: 

1.  Close  goods 

2.  Spotted  stones 

3.  Rejection  cleavage 

4.  Fine  cleavage 

5.  Light  brown  cleavage 


DIAMONDS 


21 


6.  Ordinary  and  rejection  cleavage 

7.  Flats 

8.  Naats 

9.  Rubbish 

10.  Boart 

Close  Goods  are  supposed  to  be  pure  stones  of 
desirable  shapes.  Spotted  Stones  are  crystals 
slightly  spotted.  Rejection  Stones  are  those 
seriously  depreciated  by  spots.  Cleavage  are 
broken  stones.  Flats  are  flat  crystals.  The 
refuse  classed  as  Rubbish  and  Boart  is  polishing  Classification 
material.  The  first  eight  classes  are  supposed  ^cc^rBng 
to  be  further  subdivided  according  to  shades, 
as  follows: 

Blue  white 
First  Cape 
Second  Cape 
First  bye 
Second  bye 
Off  color 
Light  yellow 
Yellow 

Only  the  first  grade  or  close  goods  are  really 
carefully  graded  according  to  these  eight 
shades.  With  the  other  grades  the  sorters 
are  less  particular.  Each  color  is  again  sub¬ 
divided  into  several  sizes,  and  when  the  goods 


22 


DIAMONDS 


.  / 

7s 

Colors  of 
Diamonds 


arrive  in  London  the 
them  into 

Finest  extra  blue  white, 
Extra  blue  white, 
Finest  blue  white, 

Blue  white, 

Finest  white, 

White, 

Silver  Capes, 


Syndicate  again  sorts 

Fine  Capes 
Capes 
Byewaters 
Yellows 

Finest  light  brown 
Light  brown 
Brown  and  dark  brown 


All  these  colors  are  divided  into  shipments  of 
Closed  Goods,  Spotteds,  Irregulars,  Blocks,  Naats , 
and  Flats. 

While  diamonds  are  found  in  many  colors  the 
usual  colors  are  white  and  yellow  of  various 
shades.  The  Jagers  stones  are  largely  blue 
white  and  in  the  trade  blue-white  stones  are 
frequently  called  Jagers  ( Yagus ).  The  dia¬ 
monds  from  the  Wesselton  mines  are  usually  of 
fine  white  color,  and  goods  of  this  color  are 
generally  termed  Wesseltons.  All  Capes  and 
Byewaters  have  some  tinge  of  yellow.  Brown 
diamonds,  if  light  enough,  are  quite  desirable, 
and  often  mount  up  to  better  appearance  than 
the  best  Silver  Capes. 

Fancy  stones  of  remarkable  shades,  Golden 
Brown,  Apple  Green,  Deep  Blue,  Canary,  etc., 
if  of  fair  size,  are  of  much  more  value  than  blue 


SORTING  THE  GRAVEL  FOR  DIAMONDS  AT  THE  KIMBERLEY  MINES 


DIAMONDS 


23 


white,  varying  according  to  the  specimen.  The 
most  valuable  of  all  diamonds  are  the  red.  This 
color  is  very  rarely  found,  and  there  are  only 
a  few  specimens  of  it  in  existence. 

Old  Mine  stones  are  supposed  to  be  fine  blue- 
white  or  extra  fine  white  stones  from  the  old 
Brazilian  or  Indian  Mines,  and  originally  were 
always  cut  in  such  a  manner  as  to  save  the  most 
weight;  consequently,  they  were  frequently  very 
thick  and  of  poor  shape.  Today  we  hear  very 
little  about  Old  Mine  stones,  since  as  fine  stones 
have  been  found  in  South  Africa  as  were  ever 
found  in  the  Old  Mines,  and  those  that  are 
shown  as  Old  Mine  stones  are  generally  “fakes,” 
coming  from  regular  sources. 


Old  Mine 
Diamonds 


The  Cutting  and  Polishing 
of  Diamonds 


Improvement 
in  Diamond 
Cutting 


Diamond  cutting  and  polishing  originated  in 
India,  and  the  art  was  afterwards  introduced 
in  Italy  and  in  Paris.  It  had  its  beginning  in 
Antwerp,  about  1480,  and  also  about  the  same 
time  in  Amsterdam.  Amsterdam  has  become 
famous  for  its  diamond  cutting,  and  for  a  long 
time  had  by  far  the  largest  number  of  cutting 
and  polishing  establishments  in  the  world. 

Antwerp  for  some  years  has  had  some  of 
the  largest  establishments,  and  during  the  last 
six  years  has  gained  rapidly  on  Amsterdam, 
and  at  the  present  time  has  a  considerably 
larger  business  in  the  cutting  and  polishing 
of  diamonds  than  Amsterdam. 

Diamond  cutting  has*  been  carried  on  in 
America  for  fifty  years  or  more,  and  the  cutting 
of  diamonds  for  the  world  has  been  revolution¬ 
ized ‘through  the  improvements  in  cutting  made 
something  like  forty  years  ago  by  Henry  D. 
Morse,  of  Boston. 

Prior  to  these  innovations  diamonds  were  cut 


DIAMOND  CUTTING 


2S 


in  a  nearly  square  shape,  with  the  corners  some¬ 
what  rounded  off,  —  the  object  being  to  secure 
as  much  brilliancy  and  also  to  save  as  much 
weight  as  possible.  Diamonds  are  now  cut,  as 
every  one  knows,  practically  round.  The  style 
of  cutting  may  be  described  as  follows: 

The  table  on  the  top  of  the  stone  is  surrounded 
by  thirty-two  small  facets  reaching  from  the 
table  to  the  girdle ,  or  edge  of  the  stone.  The 
back  of  the  stone  has  a  tiny  facet  at  the  top  of 
the  pyramid,  formed  by  cutting,  called  the 
culet ,  surrounded  by  twenty-four  facets  reaching 
from  the  culet  to  the  girdle.  Formerly  and  even 
now  in  most  of  the  ordinary  cutting  compara¬ 
tively  little  attention  is  paid  to  the  girdle;  but 
the  better  the  quality  of  the  cutting  the  more 
attention  is  paid  to  the  desirability  of  having  the 
girdle  as  thin  as  possible,  and  yet  not  so  thin  as 
to  chip  easily.  This  object  is  attained  in  the 
patented  polished  girdle  form  of  cutting,  which 
has  an  extra  curved  facet  around  the  girdle. 
This  cutting  is  protected  by  patents  in  the 
United  States  and  in  foreign  countries,  and  in 
New  England  is  sold  direct  only  to  the  Smith 
Patterson  Company. 

In  describing  this  cutting  we  will  quote  a 
letter  of  March  14,  1913,  from  the  holders  of  the 
patent,  Messrs.  Schenck  &  Van  Haelen. 


The  Style  of 
Cutting 


The  Polished 
Girdle 


26 


DIAMOND  CUTTING 


“Before  its  final  realization  the  quest  for  a 
Standard  of  absolute  perfection  in  the  cutting 
of  a  diamond  has  been  one  which  ran  through 
centuries  of  constant  endeavor. 

“Incidentally  it  has  brought  into  existence 
that  interesting  branch  of  the  trade  called 
‘fancy  cutting.’  It  has  been  responsible  for 
many  sad  disappointments  and  disillusions. 
Witness  in  1885  the  short-lived  ‘Brilliant-Phare,’ 
later  revived  under  the  name  of  ‘Twentieth 
Century,’  etc. 

“By  a  stroke  of  genius  the  fundamental  lines 
of  division  governing  the  now  classical  cutting 
called  ‘Brilliant’  were  laid  down  some  three 
hundred  years  ago  by  Vincent  Peruzzi,  in 
Venice.  The  cutting  at  that  period  was  done  in 
crude  and  primitive  fashion,  but  it  paved  the 
way  towards  the  present  high  achievement. 

“The  latter-day  Renaissance  in  the  art  of 
diamond  cutting,  credit  for  which  is  entirely 
due  to  the  keen  appreciation  shown  by  the  dis¬ 
cerning  lovers  of  jewels  in  the  United  States  of 
America,  has  through  gradual  stages  of  advance¬ 
ment  developed  the  possibilities  inherent  in  the 
‘Brilliant,’  and  has  culminated  in  the  pro¬ 
duction  of  an  ideal  stone,  the  cutting  of  which  is 
covered  by  patents  in  the  United  States  and 
in  the  principal  foreign  countries. 


CULLINAN  DIAMOND 


DIAMOND  CUTTING 


27 


“The  superiority  of  this  diamond  resides  in 
its  dominant  feature:  The  polished  curved 
facet  encircling  the  edge  of  the  stone,  forming 
a  continuous  narrow  girdle,  establishing  in 
harmony  with  every  detail  of  its  cutting  a 
connecting  link  joining  all  its  facets  into  one 
final  attainment  of  perfection. 

“This  patented  Polished  Girdle,  with  its 
resultant  increase  in  luster  and  brilliancy, 
produces  a  maximum  diffusion  of  light  with 
corresponding  depth  of  attraction. 

“The  smooth  finish  of  the  edge  protects  the 
patented  Polished  Girdle  diamond  against  injury 
by  ‘chipping,’  —  an  advantage  that  both  setter 
and  wearer  will  appreciate. 

“The  Polished  Girdle  of  this  diamond  further¬ 
more  provides  efficient  means  of  identification; 
the  cylindrically  shaped  facette  acting  as  an 
indelible  hall-mark  embodied  in  the  stone. 

“It  is  indisputably  the  first  and  only  perfectly 
finished  brilliant,  —  a  Standard  for  all  time. 

“Isolated  attempts  have  been  made  more 
recently  by  some  of  the  followers  of  Peruzzi  to 
give  increased  luster  to  the  brilliant  by  adding 
to  the  unfinished  stone  flat  polished  surfaces 
spaced  at  more  or  less  irregular  intervals,  dis¬ 
turbing  the  line  of  circumference  without  attain¬ 
ing  the  desired  result.  It  is  superfluous  to  point 


Why  the 
Polished 
Girdle  is 
Best 


28 


DIAMOND  CUTTING 


Proportions 
of  Correctly 
Cut  Diamond 


out  that  such  makeshifts  destroy  their  own  ends. 

“To  the  expert  jeweler  and  diamond  dealer,  no 
further  explanation  is  necessary  to  make  him 
realize  the  advantages  and  superiority  of  the 
patented  Polished  Girdle  diamond. 

“The  person  more  likely  to  be  in  need  of 
guidance  and  information  is  the  purchaser  not 
thoroughly  conversant  with  the  art,  and  who, 
wishing  to  ascertain  points  of  recognition,  relies 
upon  his  confidence  in  the  knowledge  of  ex¬ 
perienced  jewelers.” 

A  properly  cut  diamond  should  have  fifty- 
eight  facets  if  regularly  cut,  and  fifty-nine  if 
cut  as  a  patented  polished  girdle.  One  third 
of  its  size  should  be  above  the  girdle  and  two 
thirds  below,  and  the  table  should  be  two  fifths 
the  diameter  of  the  stone.  These  are  the  cor¬ 
rect  proportions  to  secure  the  greatest  bril¬ 
liancy.  A  stone  cut  too  deep  (that  is,  too 
thick)  lacks  brilliancy,  and  one  too  shallow  be¬ 
comes  flat  in  its  effect  and  in  the  trade  is 
termed  a  Fish-eye.  In  the  cutting  of  the  finest 
diamonds  much  consideration  is  now  given 
to  the  girdle,  while  on  the  other  hand  many 
ordinary  stones  are  cut  with  thick,  rough  gir¬ 
dles,  which  results  in  more  weight  being  left 
in  the  stone  and  less  expense  to  manufacture 
per  carat,  consequently  a  lower  price  to  the 


THE  DIAMOND  SAW 

THE  SAW  WITH  DIAMOND  BEING  SAWED  IS  SEEN  AT  THE 
LEFT  OF  THE  BENCH 


DIAMOND  CUTTING 


29 


customer  by  the  carat.  But  it  must  be  remem¬ 
bered  that  a  poorly  cut  stone  will  not  look  as 
large  as  a  stone  of  slightly  less  weight,  if  the 
latter  is  well  cut. 

Fine  diamonds,  especially  those  of  consider¬ 
able  size,  are  cut  into  drop  shapes ,  navettes  or 
marquise  shape ,  square  cut  or  emerald  cut ,  square 
cut  with  steps ,  and  oval ,  the  last  being  cut  like 
a  round  brilliant,  but  of  oval  shape.  Small 
pieces  from  the  processes  of  cleaving  and 
sawing  diamonds  are  generally  rose  cut ,  with  flat 
back.  It  is  due  probably  to  this  fact  that  the 
rose-cut  stones  come  from  the  fragments  that 
they  are  commonly  termed  chips.  In  the  old 
days  of  cutting  many  of  the  famous  stones  were 
rose  cut ,  having  when  properly  cut  twenty-four 
facets.  A  correctly  proportioned  rose  should 
be  one  half  its  diameter  in  thickness.  Smaller 
and  poorer  roses  have  twelve  facets. 

Before  being  cut  the  rough  diamonds  are  first 
examined  by  an  expert,  who  decides  how  each 
stone  shall  be  treated,  and  who  then  marks  on 
the  stone  with  ink  what  part  of  the  stone  shall 
be  removed  by  cleaving  or  sawing,  in  order  to 
get  it  in  proper  shape  for  further  work. 

In  the  process  of  cutting,  rough  diamonds  are  Diamond 
generally  cleaved  or  sawed  to  render  them  Cleavin£ 
suitable  in  size  for  cutting.  If  it  be  cleaved, 


30 


DIAMOND  CUTTING 


Diamond 

Sawing 


the  rough  diamond  is  fastened  with  cement  to 
the  end  of  a  wooden  holder  and  a  tiny  groove  is 
scratched  with  another  diamond  on  the  stone 
at  the  point  where  it  is  to  be  cleaved.  The 
stone  is  then  held  by  the  clamp  in  correct 
position,  and  then  a  heavy  steel  blade  is  placed 
on  the  diamond,  and  this  blade  is  struck  a 
smart  tap  on  the  back  and  the  stone  divides 
along  the  line  previously  determined.  The 
operation  seems  very  simple,  but  is  one  that 
requires  excellent  knowledge  of  the  stones  as 
well  as  experience. 

Sawing  has  been  used  some  twenty  years  or 
more,  and  enables  the  cutter  to  divide  the  stone 
along  any  plane,  independent  of  its  structure, 
while  a  diamond  can  be  cleaved  only  along  its 
natural  cleavage  lines.  The  diamond  saw  is 
about  three  and  one  half  inches  in  diameter,  and 
consists  of  a  very  thin  piece  of  a  special  alloy, 
the  edge  of  which  is  treated  with  diamond 
dust.  The  work  is  done  very  slowly,  several 
hours  being  required  to  cut  one  diamond,  so  that 
one  workman  operates  a  large  number  of  saws 
at  the  same  time. 

After  being  cleaved  or  sawed  the  stone  is 
again  examined  by  an  expert,  and  a  plan  for 
further  work  on  that  particular  stone  is  deter¬ 
mined  on.  The  most  important  point  in  this  is 


THE  CUTTING  OF  A  DIAMOND 

ONE  STONE  IS  SEEN  IN  THE  LATHE,  WHILE  THE  OTHER  IS  FIXED  IN 
THE  END  OF  THE  TOOL  HELD  BY  THE  WORKMAN 


DIAMOND  CUTTING 


3i 


the  location  of  the  table,  which  when  decided 
upon  is  marked  with  an  ink  circle. 

The  next  step  in  the  process  is  that  called 
cutting.  This  work  was  done  entirely  by  hand, 
and  was  called  bruiting ,  until  about  twenty-five 
years  ago,  when  machine  cutting  came  into  use. 
In  machine  cutting  a  rough  diamond  is  fixed 
by  cement  in  a  steel  holder  held  in  a  lathe  and 
is  cut  by  another  diamond,  which  is  also  fixed 
into  a  steel  holder  attached  to  a  handle  some 
eighteen  inches  long,  this  latter  diamond  being 
held  against  the  one  in  the  revolving  lathe  and 
the  cutting  done  much  after  the  manner  of 
wood  turning.  The  stone  is  cut  very  rapidly 
as  compared  with  the  old  method  of  bruiting , 
the  method  which  had  been  used  from  the  time 
of  the  first  cutting  of  diamonds  until  the  advent 
of  machine  cutting.  Machine  cutting,  however, 
can  be  used  only  for  round  and  oval  diamonds, 
and  for  the  round  ends  of  pear  or  drop  shape 
diamonds.  Marquise  shape,  square  or  emerald 
cut,  and  other  fancy  shapes  must  still  be  cut 
by  hand. 

Diamonds  are  polished  on  a  polishing  wheel 
covered  with  diamond  dust  and  oil.  The  wheel 
is  about  eleven  inches  in  diameter  and  made 
from  a  special  casting  of  a  secret  alloy  known 
only  to  two  men,  one  in  Amsterdam  and  one 


Diamond 

Cutting 


Diamond 

Polishing 


32 


DIAMOND  CUTTING 


in  Antwerp.  The  wheel  is  set  to  revolve 
horizontally  at  the  rate  of  about  twenty-two 
hundred  revolutions  per  minute.  The  time 
needed  to  polish  a  diamond,  say  of  about  one 
carat,  after  it  has  been  shaped  up  ready  for  the 
wheel,  is,  depending  on  its  hardness,  from 
two  to  four  days. 

Method  of  The  diamonds  to  be  polished  were  formerly 

Holding  a]wayS  imbedded  in  a  composition  of  lead  and 
Diamond  .  ...  .  . 

to  be  Polished  tin  while  the  metal  was  in  an  almost  fluid  state. 

In  this  case  the  workman  sets  the  stone  in 

position  at  the  proper  angle  with  a  pair  of 

pliers  and  smoothes  the  still  almost  molten 

metal  with  his  bare  fingers.  It  seems  to  the 

observer  that  it  is  a  miracle  that  the  man  does 

not  burn  his  fingers,  until  it  is  noticed  that  they 

have  been  calloused  by  the  hot  metal  to  a 

condition  almost  like  that  of  leather. 

After  each  facet  has  been  polished  the  dia¬ 
mond  must  be  removed  and  reset  before  a  new 
facet  can  be  begun.  The  patent  dop,  invented 
about  seventeen  years  ago,  which  allows  the 
stone  to  be  set  at  the  desired  angle  and  held 
by  clamps,  is  about  the  only  improvement  in 
the  process  of  polishing  for  many  years.  This 
improvement  cannot,  however,  be  used  in 
the  polishing  of  melees ,  marquise ,  square ,  and 
other  fancy-shaped  diamonds  in  which  the 


THE  DIAMOND  POLISHER'S  WHEEL 

THE  WORKMAN  IS  ADJUSTING  THE  dop  CONTAINING  A  DIAMOND 


PREPARATORY  TO  POLISHING 


DIAMOND  CUTTING 


33 


old-fashioned  dop  of  soft  metal  must  still  be 
used. 

By  a  perfect  diamond  is  meant  in  the  trade 
a  diamond  without  flaw  or  spot  which  can  be 
discovered  by  using  an  ordinary  watchmaker’s 
glass  by  a  person  whose  eyes  are  ordinarily 
strong.  Scientifically  the  perfect  diamond  does 
not  exist,  as  all  diamonds  must  show  imper¬ 
fections  if  a  glass  powerful  enough  be  used. 
Imperfections,  termed  flaws  or  feathers,  are  due 
to  carbon  spots  or  minute  cracks.  Com¬ 
mercially,  perfect  diamonds  or  slightly  im¬ 
perfect  and  even  imperfect  diamonds  are  equally 
staple  and  salable.  The  actual  value  of  the 
stone  is  of  course  determined  by  its  color, 
brilliancy,  freedom  from  discernible  imperfec¬ 
tions  or  conspicuousness  of  flaws  if  they  exist, 
and  size. 

The  question  often  comes  up  whether  dia¬ 
monds  used  in  the  United  States  can  best  be 
bought  by  diamond  merchants  from  cutters  in 
America  or  from  the  cutters  in  Europe.  To 
those  who  have  made  a  study  of  the  question 
there  can  be  no  doubt  that  in  sizes  from  one  half 
a  carat  and  larger,  the  American  cutters,  if 
properly  equipped,  are  able  to  produce  and 
deliver  finished  diamonds  to  the  trade  in  the 
United  States  cheaper  than  the  same  goods 


The  Perfect 
Diamond 


Can 

Diamonds  be 
bought  best 
from 
European 
Cutters  or 
American? 


34 


DIAMOND  CUTTING 


Better 

Workmanship 


could  be  bought  and  landed,  duty  paid,  from 
European  cutters.  The  following  letter  from 
Mr.  Ernest  G.  H.  Schenck,  of  Schenck  &  Van 
Haelen,  explains  the  condition  of  the  cutter  in 
America  and  Europe  as  it  is  today. 

‘‘Regarding  wages  ruling  in  American  as 
against  European  diamond  cutting  centers,  the 
difference  which  some  fifteen  years  ago  existed 
and  had  a  bearing  upon  preference  of  purchase 
being  given  to  Europe,  has  today  become  so 
small  a  factor  that  the  tables  have  been  effi¬ 
caciously  turned  in  favor  of  the  United  States 
for  all  purchases  of  diamonds  of  value  and 
size,  not  excluding  some  melees. 

“The  progress  made  here  in  economic  hand¬ 
ling  of  rough  merchandise  has  almost  reached 
the  point  where,  should  the  duty  be  removed 
from  the  cut  as  well  as  it  is  removed  from  the 
rough  diamond,  I  firmly  believe  the  industry 
would,  in  the  United  States,  through  better 
workmanship,  triumph  and  grow  over  all  others, 
even  on  an  equal  footing. 

“Several  causes  lie  at  the  bottom  of  this: 
fifteen  years  ago  the  cost  of  manufacture 
represented,  say,  about  fifteen  per  cent  of  the 
price  of  the  finished  article;  today,  with  the 
doubled  value  of  the  rough  material  it  repre¬ 
sents  only  about  ten  per  cent  (allowing,  of 


DIAMOND  CUTTING  35 


course,  fully  for  increased  wages  paid  for 
improved  work  during  that  period). 

“Furthermore,  if  some  dozen  years  ago,  at  a 
time  when  protection  to  industries  was  thought 
necessary,  an  average  duty  of  less  than  ten 
dollars  per  carat  (ten  per  cent  ad  valorem)  was 
found  more  than  sufficient,  what  is  the  obvious 
conclusion  to  be  drawn  today,  when  this  same 
duty  means  on  the  same  goods  not  less  than 
double  or  twenty  dollars  per  carat? 

“On  the  other  hand,  trade  unionism  has 
increased  in  Europe  even  more  and  with  greater 
reason  than  it  has  in  the  United  States;  and  the 
demands  have  become  more  urgent  in  full  ratio 
to  the  abuse  of  labor  that  has  been  practised 
in  the  old  countries.  The  result  has  been  that 
the  few  good  artisans  who  had  not  emigrated 
to  more  hospitable  shores,  together  with  the 
mass  of  poor  workers  remaining  over  there,  have 
gradually  found  better  terms  granted  them,  with 
shorter  hours  of  work,  than  had  ever  been  the 
case  heretofore.  In  consequence  there  is  today 
a  constant  narrowing  down  of  the  difference 
between  the  two  scales  of  wages,  and  it  will  not 
be  long  before  almost  equal  compensation  will 
prevail  in  Antwerp  and  Amsterdam,  as  well  as 
in  America,  for  the  best  workmanship  in  dia¬ 
mond  cutting. 


Trades 
U  nionism 


36  DIAMOND  CUTTING 


“In  a  general  way,  this  wage  question  could 
heretofore  be  summed  up  as  follows,  taking  two 
hundred  dollars  as  an  average  value  per  carat: 

I  Carat,  $ 200.00  U.  S.  A. .  .  paid  wages  $20.00 
I  Carat,  $192.00  Europe..  .  paid  wages  $12.00 

Difference  $8.00 

or  four  per  cent  in  favor  of  Europe. 

“Duty  ten  per  cent  on  $192  is  $19.20,  from 
which,  deducting  balance  in  favor  of  Europe 
equaling  $8,  leaves  $11.20,  or  5.6  per  cent  in 
favor  of  the  United  States. 

“With  the  going  into  effect  of  the  new  Under¬ 
wood  Tariff  this  percentage  of  difference  re¬ 
mains  the  same,  owing  to  the  fact  that  the  ratio 
in  duties  between  cut  and  rough  diamonds 
brought  into  the  United  States  also  remains 
the  same,  that  is,  the  duty  on  cut  diamonds  has 
been  increased  to  twenty  per  cent,  whereas  the 
duty  on  rough  diamonds  is  now  ten  per  cent  ad 
valorem.” 

Melees  Melees  and  sizes  smaller  than  one  half  carat 
can,  however,  be  cut  in  Europe  and  landed,  with 
twenty  per  cent  duty,  cheaper  than  they  can 
be  cut  in  America.  The  statements  of  Mr. 
Henry  Kryn  and  other  diamond  cutters  regard¬ 
ing  the  cost  of  labor  per  carat  in  the  United 


DIAMOND  CUTTING 


37 


States  and  Europe,  while  slightly  different  from 
those  of  Mr.  Schenck,  show  conclusively  that 
Mr.  Schenck’s  statement  regarding  the  difference 
in  cost  of  American  and  European  cut  goods, 
after  the  duty  has  been  paid  in  the  United 
States,  is  correct. 

Diamonds  have,  since  1898,  steadily  advanced 
in  price  and  are  still  advancing.  This  is  due, 
we  believe,  first  to  the  difficulty  in  actually 
mining  the  world’s  supply  of  diamonds,  and 
second  to  the  fact  that  through  the  methods 
of  business  of  the  two  great  companies,  the 
DeBeers  Consolidated  Mines,  Ltd.,  and  the 
London  Syndicate,  — ■  which  combined  form 
virtually  a  monopoly, — they  have  been  able  to 
control  the  entire  diamond  market  and  to  regu¬ 
late  prices.  For  many  years  these  two  com¬ 
panies  have  made  the  diamond  market  secure 
and  undoubtedly  will  continue  to  hold  it  so. 
The  extent  of  the  rise  in  prices  has,  meanwhile, 
been  very  great,  and  in  a  rough  way  it  is  safe 
to  say  that  diamonds  are  today  worth  more 
than  double  the  value  of  the  same  goods  in 
1898,  and  in  many  cases  more  than  three  times 
what  they  were  worth  at  that  time. 

Perhaps  the  greatest  advance  in  this  general 
rise  in  value  has  been  on  fine  crystal  or  Wessel- 
ton  two  grainers ,  or  half-carat  diamonds,  which 


Advance  in 
Price  of 
Diamonds 


38  DIAMOND  CUTTING 


have  advanced  to  more  than  three  times  their 
value  in  1898.  Silver  Capes  and  the  best  of 
the  cheaper  goods  have  advanced  rather  more 
than  blue  white  and  Wesseltons,  except  in  the 
half-carat  sizes  of  the  latter. 


OFFICE  OF  A  DIAMOND-CUTTING  ESTABLISHMENT 


D  iamond  Mountings 


Diamonds  have  been  mounted  into  gold 
jewelry  in  the  richer  countries  of  the  world  for 
centuries,  but  an  examination  of  the  collections 
of  old  jewelry  in  the  great  museums  of  the 
world  will  convince  any  one  that  this  ancient 
work  is  of  interest  and  value  only  to  the  student 
of  antiques.  These  ornaments  were  invariably 
of  gold.  In  work  of  a  more  recent  date,  platinum, 
although  used  to  a  limited  extent  for  about 
thirty  years,  has  been  used  to  a  marked  degree 
only  since  about  1900.  In  the  evolution  of  pres¬ 
ent-day  diamond  jewelry,  however,  platinum  has 
been  the  metal  which  has  increased  steadily 
in  favor,  until  it  is  now  practically  the  only 
metal  used  for  the  most  elaborate  and  artistic 
creations.  Platinum  was  discovered  in  South 
America  in  1735  and  in  Russia  in  1819.  It 
has  also  been  found  in  Canada  and  Australia. 
About  nine  tenths  of  all  produced  in  the  world 
now  comes  from  Russia.  Very  little,  however, 
is  found,  only  about  one  per  cent  of  platinum 
since  its  discovery  in  proportion  to  gold  found 


Platinum 

Mountings 


4o  DIAMOND  MOUNTINGS 


in  the  same  period.  It  is  generally  found  in  the 
sand  of  placer  mines  and  the  usual  yield  is  one 
ounce  of  platinum  to  a  ton  of  sand. 

For  use  it  must  be  alloyed  with  iridium  and 
when  properly  alloyed  is  very  hard  and  retains 
a  fine  brilliant  finish.  As  iridium  is  far  more 
expensive  even  than  platinum,  some  manu¬ 
facturers,  in  order  to  secure  platinum  at  lower 
price,  have  not  used  enough  iridium  in  their 
alloy,  which  has  resulted  in  the  metal  becoming 
soft  and  turning  dull  or  leady  in  color.  Platinum 
of  standard  hardness  of  alloy  weighs  nearly 
sixty  per  cent  more  than  fourteen-carat  gold, 
and  while  fourteen-carat  gold  costs  sixty-four 
cents  per  pennyweight,  platinum  now  costs 
about  $2.50  per  pennyweight. 

Comparison  In  computing  as  an  example  the  value  of  a 
Material  in  diamond  mounting,  it  might  be  said  that  a 
Mountings  diamond  mounting  weighing  ten  pennyweights 
would  cost  for  the  gold  $6.40;  a  mounting  of 
the  same  size  in  platinum  would  weigh  nearly 
sixteen  pennyweight  and  cost  nearly  $40  for 
the  material. 

The  cost  of  working  platinum  is  also  far 
greater  than  that  of  gold,  but  its  brilliant  finish 
and  hardness  and  harmonizing  color  make  it 
far  the  best  metal  for  fine  diamond  and  pearl 
mountings. 


DIAMOND  MOUNTINGS  41 


It  need  hardly  be  added  that  the  finest 
creations  in  diamond  mounting  can  only  be 
produced  by  artists  who  combine  a  knowledge 
and  appreciation  of  the  finest  epochs  and  styles 
in  the  art  of  ornamentation,  with  the  mar¬ 
velous  technical  skill  of  the  best  of  the  pres¬ 
ent-day  craftsmen  in  platinum  and  precious 
metals. 


The  Pearl 


Oriental 

Pearls 


Pearls  are  in  a  sense  the  purest  of  all  gems, 
since  they  alone  require  no  polishing  orcutting 
at  the  hands  of  workmen,  but  are  found  in 
nature  in  their  most  finished  form  of  perfection. 
They  have  been  known  and  prized  since  long 
before  the  Christian  era.  They  are  said  to 
have  been  known  in  China  four  thousand 
years  ago.  The  gems  occur  more  or  less  ex¬ 
tensively  in  almost  every  country  where  oysters 
or  mussels  are  found.  The  pearls  of  the  greatest 
value  are  the  Orientals ,  found  in  the  Indian 
and  Pacific  oceans.  The  famous  fisheries  of 
Ceylon  furnish  a  large  percentage  of  fine  pearls, 
although  the  gems  found  there  are  seldom  of 
large  size.  The  Ceylon  oyster  is  comparatively 
small,  only  about  four  inches  in  length  and 
with  a  thin  shell,  while  the  oyster  of  the  South 
Seas,  Australia,  and  the  Philippines  is  very 
large  and  thick.  From  these  large  pearl  oysters 
comes  the  beautiful  Mother  of  Pearl  much  used 
in  commerce. 

The  fresh-water  pearls  are  found  in  streams, 


PEARLS 


43 


lakes,  and  ponds  in  nearly  all  parts  of  the  tem¬ 
perate  zone.  American  fresh-water  pearls  are 
found  largely  in  the  Western  rivers,  and  are 
generally  of  irregular  shapes,  either  button  or 
baroques ,  although  some  fine  pearls  have  never¬ 
theless  been  found  there.  In  fact,  some  very 
fine  American  pearls  have  been  discovered 
which  have  commanded  a  very  large  price. 

The  value  of  a  pearl  depends  first  on  its  luster 
or  orient ,  as  it  is  termed  in  the  trade;  second, 
on  its  shape ,  round  being  the  most  valuable, 
next  drop  or  pear  shape,  and  lastly  on  its  texture 
or  skin.  The  skin  of  a  fine  pearl  should  be  free 
from  any  wrinkles,  scratches,  or  spots.  Pearls 
increase  in  value  in  proportion  to  an  increase 
in  size  much  faster  than  does  any  other  gem, 
and  are  figured  unlike  any  other  gem.  For 
instance,  if 

A  one-grain  pearl  at  $5.00  base  is  valued  at  $5.00. 
A  five-grain  pearl  at  $5.00  base  is  worth  $125.00. 
A  ten-grain  pearl  at  $5.00  base  is  worth  $500.00. 

For  a  long  time  pearls  have  had  a  far  greater 
sale  in  Europe  than  in  America.  All  jewelers  of 
much  prominence  abroad  carry  very  large  stocks 
of  pearls.  But  the  pearl  business  in  America 
is  now  very  large  and  gives  every  promise  of 
increasing  greatly  in  the  future. 


Fresh-Water 

Pearls 


Value  of 
Pearls 


44 


PEARLS 


Increase  in 
V alue 


Average 
Annual 
Value  of 
Pearl 
Fisheries 


The  increase  in  value  of  pearls  has  been  going 
on  during  the  last  twenty  years  very  rapidly, 
and  the  increase  has  been  far  greater  than  is 
the  case  with  diamonds  or  even  with  emeralds. 
The  causes  for  this  advance  in  price  are  better 
known  than  in  the  case  of  diamonds,  and  the 
probable  value  of  pearls  in  the  future  can  there¬ 
fore  be  more  definitely  forecasted.  Regard¬ 
ing  these  points  I  will  draw  largely  from  a 
personal  letter  from  Mr.  Ludwig  Nissen,  of 
New  York: 

In  brief,  then,  the  cause  for  the  advance  in 
price  of  pearls  is  simply  that  the  supply  is  now 
absolutely  inadequate  to  meet  the  demand. 
The  supply  is  chiefly  from  two  sources,  —  the 
fisheries  and  the  accumulated  stores  of  the 
great  Indian  rajahs.  The  fisheries,  the  only 
primary  source,  are  gradually  being  exhausted. 
In  the  last  five  years,  statistics  show  that  there 
has  not  been  an  average  of  ten  million  dollars’ 
worth  of  pearls  from  all  the  fisheries  combined, 
while  much  more  than  ten  million  dollars’  worth 
of  pearls  are  sold  annually  in  New  York  City 
alone.  Furthermore,  there  has  not  been  a 
new  pearl  fishery  discovered  in  the  last  fifty 
years.  This  exhaustion  of  the  fisheries  has  been 
accelerated  by  the  methods  used.  In  former 
years  divers  went  down  to  the  bottom  of  the 


THE  RAJAH  OF  DHOLPUR 
WHOSE  PEARLS  WERE  VALUED  AT  $7,500,000 


Courtesy  of 
J.  B.  Lippincott  Co. 


PEARLS 


45 


sea  to  pick  out  and  get  the  oysters  which  they 
thought  might  contain  pearls,  but  since  the 
demand  has  so  largely  increased,  divers  are  no 
longer  employed.  Grapples  are  used  in  their 
stead  and  are  operated  in  the  same  way  as 
dredging  machines,  scraping  up  everything, 
large  and  small.  When  these  small  oysters  are 
opened  and  seed  pearls  taken,  there  is  obviously 
no  chance  for  the  pearls  to  grow  larger,  “on 
the  same  principle  that  where  one  picks  a 
peach  blossom,  one  cannot  pick  a  peach.”  In 
this  manner  the  pearl  fisheries  are  being  robbed 
instead  of  being  conserved,  and  the  supply 
must  continue  to  decrease. 

Drilled  pearls  are  practically  the  only  ones 
found  on  the  European  market  today,  and  this 
fact  points  to  the  second  source  of  supply. 
These  drilled  pearls  are  old  pearls  gradually 
accumulated  and  held  for  centuries  by  the  pearl- 
loving  princes  of  India.  New  pearls  from  the 
fisheries  are  never  drilled,  both  because  the 
gems  may  be  desired  for  other  purposes  than 
for  necklaces,  and  also  because  the  moisture 
otherwise  held  within  the  hard  outer  skin  can, 
in  the  case  of  drilled  pearls,  ooze  out  between 
the  skins,  the  pearl  little  by  little  dries  up  and 
becomes  lighter.  The  old  pearls  of  the  Indian 
princes  were  always  drilled  so  that  they  might 


Pearl 

Fisheries 


Drilled 

Pearls 


46 


PEARLS 


Pearl 

Syndicate 


be  strung  and  thus  carried  with  greater  security 
by  the  owner.  The  fact  that  most  of  the  pearls 
on  the  market  are  drilled  shows  again  that  we 
are  dependent  for  our  supply  on  these  accumula¬ 
tions  which  are  the  result  of  centuries  of  pearl 
fishing,  and  until  four  or  five  years  ago  large 
numbers  of  these  old  pearls  were  lured  from 
their  ancient  owners  by  the  large  prices  offered. 
But  now  even  this  supply,  limited  as  it  must  be, 
is  beginning  to  dwindle.  Lastly,  great  diffi¬ 
culties  are  now  encountered  in  securing  pearls 
from  these  sources.  A  pearl  syndicate  has 
been  formed  which  collects  all  the  pearls  it  can 
secure  in  all  parts  of  the  East,  ships  them  to 
London  and  Paris,  and  then  demands  such  high 
prices  that  often  a  whole  year  must  be  consumed 
in  dickering  before  a  bargain  can  finally  be 
reached.  Taken  together,  all  these  reasons 
explain  why  pearls  have  advanced  so  rapidly 
in  price,  and  also  why  fine  large  pearls  have 
increased  most  rapidly  in  value.  It  would 
also  appear  from  this,  that  since  the  supply  is 
so  inadequate  to  the  demand,  pearls,  and 
especially  fine  ones,  must  inevitably  advance 
greatly  in  the  future. 

In  conclusion  Mr.  Nissen  says  that  “the 
coming  into  the  market  of  a  really  fine  twenty 
to  twenty-five  grain  pearl  is  almost  as  much 


PEARLS 


47 


a  sensation  in  the  pearl  market  as  the  discovery 
of  an  unknown  Rembrandt  picture.” 

The  skin  of  an  oriental  pearl  is  formed  like 
that  of  an  onion,  and  very  highly  skilled  work¬ 
men  can  sometimes  remove  the  outer  layer  of 
a  pearl  with  a  bad  skin  and  thus  produce  a 
smaller  pearl  of  good  skin.  This  is  very  seldom 
done  in  America,  however,  and  at  best  it  is  al¬ 
ways  a  gamble  whether  the  risk  should  be  in¬ 
curred.  Fresh  water  pearls,  on  the  other  hand, 
are  not  formed  in  layers,  but  in  sections,  and 
cannot  be  peeled. 

Pearls  vary  greatly  in  color  and  shade.  Those 
of  pure  white  or  white  with  a  rose  pink  tint, 
with  good  luster,  are  the  most  valuable  of  the 
regular  colors.  Creamy  white  is  also  desirable. 
Of  the  fancy  colors  black  pearls  of  line  skin  and 
shape  are  very  valuable,  as  are  also  fine  pink 
pearls.  Button  pearls  are  those  with  one  side 
fiat,  while  baroque  pearls  are  always  of  odd  and 
irregular  shapes. 

Pearls  may  be  injured  by  acids  or  by  being 
scratched,  but  are  not  harmed  by  pure  water. 
A  string  of  fine  pearls  should  always  be  carefully 
wiped  and  put  away  in  soft  cotton  after  being 
worn.  They  should  be  restrung  quite  often. 

As  is  well  known,  gems  and  particularly 
pearls,  have  from  remote  antiquity  been  re- 


Skin  of 
Pearls 


Colors  of 
Pearls 


48 


PEARLS 


Pearl 

Legend 


garded  as  of  great  value  and  have,  therefore, 
been  eagerly  collected  by  kings  and  princes. 
Many  pretty  legends  have  arisen  from  this  fact, 
especially  among  the  rajahs  of  the  East.  An 
interesting  example  of  this  spontaneous  and 
interesting  literature  of  gems  has  been  handed 
to  me  by  Mr.  Nissen,  and  is  as  follows: 

The  Origin  of  the  Superstition  that 
Pearls  Bring  Tears 

The  Princess  of  Travancore,  who  was  stolen 
by  a  Rover  of  Kandy  and  lost  in  the  storm  called 
down  upon  his  ships  by  a  potent  Brahman,  is  the 
heroine  of  the  tale.  Her  body  was  recovered  and 
with  it  came  a  great  gift,  asthelegendthus relates. 

Now,  when  the  elements  were  at  peace  again, 
the  King  gave  orders  that  certain  fishermen  of 
his  people  who  were  expert  divers  should  explore 
the  bottom  of  the  sea  where  the  ships  of  the 
Rover  were  destroyed.  One  of  these  discovered 
the  body  of  the  Princess  and  brought  it  to  shore. 
And  when  they  prepared  it  for  burial  the  women 
found  fastened  upon  one  of  the  hands  a  shellfish, 
the  two  shells  of  which  had  closed  upon  a  finger 
when  it  fell  between  them  as  they  gaped.  And 
when  the  shells  were  pried  apart  there  rolled 
from  between  them  a  round  bone,  white  and 
shining,  and  yet  of  a  luster  so  soft  and  beautiful 


PEARLS 


49 


that  no  man  had  seen  the  like.  And  the  Brah¬ 
man,  when  he  saw  it,  said:  “Herein  are  the 
tears  of  Heaven  which  fell  into  the  sea,  con¬ 
gealed  and  have  become  a  gem  which  is  beyond 
price.”  And  he  named  it  “Pearl,”  and  carried 
it  to  the  King.  Then  the  King,  after  he  had 
heard  the  stdry  of  it,  sent  for  the  chief  man  of 
them  that  worked  in  gold  and  commanded  him 
that  he  make  for  the  pearl  a  setting  most 
precious,  and  when  it  was  done,  he  gave  it  to 
the  Prince,  his  son,  saying:  “Above  all  things 
let  this  be  first  among  the  jewels  of  Travancore 
forever.”  And  the  Prince,  when  he  looked  upon 
it  said,  “The  beauty  of  it  is  like  the  brightness 
of  her  eyes  when  they  veiled  themselves  before 
my  passion,”  and  he  prized  it  more  than  all  the 
diamonds  and  rubies  in  his  treasure  house. 


The  Tariff  on  Diamonds,  Pearls, 
and  Precious  Stones 


The  recent  Underwood  Tariff  which  caused 
so  many  changes  also  brought  into  prominence 
new  aspects  of  the  diamond  and  gem  importing 
business.  For  many  years  the  tariff  on  polished 
diamonds  and  on  other  finished  gems,  including 
pearls,  had  been  ten  per  cent.  By  the  new 
tariff  this  was  raised  to  twenty  per  cent,  and 
rough  diamonds,  which  heretofore  had  been 
on  the  free  list,  were  made  to  bear  a  duty  of 
ten  per  cent. 

The  gem  importers  made  a  concerted  effort 
to  prevent  the  change  in  tariff,  because  they 
believed  that  the  object  of  the  Administration 
would  be  defeated  rather  than  furthered  by  the 
changes.  In  other  words,  they  believed  that 
the  government  would  secure  less  revenue  rather 
than  more,  because  of  the  added  inducement  to 
smugglers.  However,  the  tariff  was  raised  and 
the  only  recourse  now  open  to  legitimate  dealers 
is  to  see,  so  far  as  possible,  that  no  smuggling 
is  done.  The  American  Jewelers’  Protective 


THE  TARIFF  ON  GEMS  51 


Association  was  formed  to  accomplish  this 
purpose.  In  the  association  are  incorporated 
almost  all  the  legitimate  dealers  and  importers 
in  gems  and  precious  stones  in  the  country. 
These  concerns  realize  the  danger  of  competition 
with  gems  smuggled  into  the  country,  and 
through  the  association  they  endeavor  to  aid 
the  federal  government  by  furnishing  the  cus¬ 
toms  authorities  with  information  which  they 
alone,  for  obvious  reasons,  are  in  a  position  to 
obtain.  For  this  purpose  the  association  em¬ 
ploys  detectives  in  Europe,  whose  work  it  is  to 
know  what  important  purchases  are  made  and 
how  they  reach  America.  By  these  means 
smugglers  have  recently  been  detected  and 
caught,  who  used  the  most  ingenuous  means 
for  concealing  the  goods. 

The  work  of  the  association  is  further  aided 
by  a  clause  in  the  Administrative  Act  of  the 
new  tariff,  which  provides  that,  “  where  a 
seizure  has  been  made,  the  burden  of  proof 
shall  be  upon  the  claimant.”  Under  this  pro¬ 
vision  even  regular  buyers  of  precious  stones 
must  be  prepared  to  furnish  evidence  that  the 
stones  were  legitimately  brought  into  the 
country,  since,  if  a  smuggler  is  detected,  not 
only  will  his  goods  be  seized,  but  also  the 
smuggled  stones  that  he  may  have  sold  to  his 


52  THE  TARIFF  ON  GEMS 


customers.  Dealers  must,  therefore,  be  on  their 
guard  to  purchase  stones  only  from  reputable, 
responsible  houses. 

In  the  matter  of  the  relative  advantages  to 
individuals  in  purchasing  diamond  jewelry 
abroad  and  at  home,  Mr.  Ludwig  Nissen, 
president  of  the  American  Jewelers’  Protec¬ 
tive  Association,  contributes  some  illuminating 
information.  He  says,  in  the  first  place,  that 
he  has  never  known  a  person  to  make  as  good 
purchases  abroad  as  could  have  been  made  at 
home.  Methods  of  doing  business  in  these 
goods  are  entirely  different  on  different  sides 
of  the  Atlantic,  and  the  customer  not  versed 
in  the  technicalities  that  enter  into  the  valua¬ 
tion  of  jewels,  must  often  fall  more  or  less  a 
prey  to  the  merchant  working  under  a  different 
code  of  commercial  honesty  than  exists  here. 
Also  it  must  be  noted  that  the  quality  of 
precious  stones  sold  in  Europe  is  very  often 
not  that  desired  by  Americans. 


Precious  ad  Semiprecious 
Stones 

Rubies,  emeralds,  and  sapphires  are  always 
classed  as  precious  stones.  Many  other  gems 
should  be  termed  “precious  stones”  because  of 
their  rarity  and  beauty.  Especially  should  they 
be  termed  so  in  times  when  they  are  much  in 
vogue,  and  because  of  this  demand  through 
fashion  have  advanced  very  largely  in  price. 

The  question  may  be  summed  up  by  saying 
that  in  addition  to  diamonds,  rubies,  sapphires, 
and  emeralds,  very  fine  specimens  of  many  of 
the  so-called  semiprecious  stones  should  be 
considered  precious  stones,  perhaps  at  all  times, 
and  unquestionably  so  at  times  when  there  exists 
a  fashionable  demand  for  them  and  they  have 
in  consequence  attained  great  value. 


The  Ruby 


Composition  Rubies  and  Sapphires  are  scientifically  the 
same  stone,  differing  only  in  color.  Corundum, 
the  predominating  mineral  of  both,  is  composed 
of  nearly  pure  alumina.  The  coloring  substance 
which  differentiates  rubies  and  sapphires  is 
believed  to  be  chromium.  In  the  scale  of 
hardness  the  gem  ranks  as  No.  9  and  is  thus 
the  hardest  of  all  substances  excepting  the 
diamond.  Color  is  the  most  important  factor 
in  determining  the  value  of  the  ruby.  The 
gem  is  always  more  or  less  imperfect,  but  its 
freedom  from  bad  imperfections  is  also  im¬ 
portant.  Since  fine  rubies  of  all  sizes  are 
extremely  rare,  the  price  increases  very  rapidly 
with  an  increase  in  size,  and  a  fine  ruby  of  more 
Value  than  four  carats  commands  an  extraordinary 
price  and  can  be  said  to  be  the  most  valuable  of 
all  gems,  exceeding  greatly  a  diamond  of  equal 
weight.  A  ruby  of  eleven  carats  is  reported,  some 
twelve  years  ago,  to  have  been  sold  for  $80,000, 
but  this  is  almost  the  limit  of  size  in  which  rubies 
Color  are  ever  found.  The  color  varies  from  the  lightest 


AT  WORK 


RUBIES 


55 


rose  tint  to  the  deepest  carmine,  but  the  rarest 
and  most  valuable  shade  is  that  known  as  Pigeon 
Blood.  This  is  the  color  of  arterial  blood.  The 
ruby  has  always  been  greatly  admired,  and 
Ruskin  calls  the  ruby  in  the  British  Crown  the 
most  beautiful  gem  he  has  ever  seen. 

The  finest  rubies  come  from  Burmah  and 
are  termed  Oriental  Rubies.  Siam  also  pro¬ 
duces  rubies,  but  of  a  much  darker  red  and  of 
very  much  less  value.  Rubies  are  also  found  in 
Ceylon,  India,  Australia,  Brazil,  and  occa¬ 
sionally  in  America. 

Rubies,  as  well  as  sapphires,  are  sometimes  Cutting 
cut  in  India  in  cabochon  form  and  are  afterwards 
recut  in  Europe.  The  style  is  often  cushion 
shape,  with  step  cutting.  They  are  also  cut 
round  and  pear  shape,  similar  to  the  cutting  of 
a  diamond  of  these  shapes.  The  stones  are 
cut  thick  or  shallow  to  deepen  or  diminish  the 
color  of  the  stone. 

Many  years  ago  scientists  succeeded  in  pro-  Synthetic 
ducing  minute  crystals  of  rubies  and  sapphires 
which  could  not  be  distinguished  from  the  rubies 
of  nature  even  by  the  microscope.  These  speci¬ 
mens  were,  however,  very  small  and  of  no  com¬ 
mercial  value.  These  minute  crystals  are  the  only 
truly  synthetic  rubies  which  have  ever  been  made. 

The  scientific  ruby  now  on  the  market  is 


RUBIES 


56 


simply  a  chemical  product  made  by  fusing 
powdered  alumina,  colored  to  imitate  the  gem 
by  the  addition  of  a  metallic  oxide.  This 
scientific  ruby,  because  it  is  better  and  cheaper, 
has  largely  taken  the  place  of  the  reconstructed 
ruby,  made  by  melting  small  fragments  of  real 
rubies.  These  chemical  products  when  dyed 
blue  pass  in  a  similar  way  for  sapphires. 

How  fine  All  these  imitations  of  the  true  corundum 
Rubies™™  £ems  can  be  detected  by  an  expert,  most  of 
Detected,  them  at  first  sight  and  without  hesitation.  And 
even  in  the  much  rarer  cases  when  the  imita¬ 
tion  approaches  the  real  stone  very  closely,  the 
former  can  always  be  detected  under  a  micro¬ 
scope.  In  the  real,  fine  parallel  lines  of  structural 
strain  are  seen  and  the  little  enclosures,  or 
bubbles,  are  irregular  in  shape,  whereas  in  the 
imitation  the  lines  of  strain  are  curved  and  the 
bubbles  round. 

While  scientific  rubies  and  sapphires  have 
a  distinct  use  as  ornaments,  they  can  never 
affect  the  sale  of  the  real  gems  any  more  than 
is  the  case  with  imitation  pearls.  Aside  from 
the  fact  that  the  imitation  can  always  be  ulti¬ 
mately  detected,  the  person  desiring  to  pur¬ 
chase  a  ruby,  as  a  ruby,  and  as  a  work  of  beauty 
and  distinction  wants  a  gem  which  he  knows  is 
one  of  nature’s  rarities  and  is  therefore  possessed 


RUBIES 


57 


of  intrinsically  great  value.  A  good  illustration 
of  this  fundamental  feeling  is  given  by  Mr.  Zell, 
who  says,  “Many  perfect  copies  of  the  Sistine 
Madonna  have  been  made  by  good  artists, 
the  original  is  priceless,  the  copies  at  the  most 
are  worth  a  few  hundred  dollars,  —  this  is  the 
relation  of  a  gem  made  in  nature’s  laboratory 
to  one  produced  by  the  chemist.” 


The  Sapphire 


Color 


Value  of 
Large  Size 
Stones 


Where  finest 
Sapphires 
are  Found 


The  Sapphire  is  the  other  great  branch  of  the 
Corundum  family  of  gems.  It  differs  from  the 
ruby  only  in  color. 

Sapphires  vary  in  tint  from  the  lightest  blue 
to  a  deep  blackish  blue,  and,  similar  to  rubies, 
are  valued  chiefly  according  to  their  color.  The 
soft,  velvety  blue  most  approaching  the  blue 
of  the  cornflower  of  England,  which  is  known  in 
our  country  as  the  bachelor’s  button,  is  the 
most  valued  color  in  sapphires.  The  best 
stones  should  show  this  color  by  artificial  as 
well  as  by  natural  light. 

Although  choice  sapphires  are  uncommon, 
fine  large  stones  are  more  frequently  found  than 
rubies  of  similar  size,  and  consequently  the  price 
does  not  advance  with  an  increase  in  size  so 
rapidly  as  it  does  with  rubies. 

Sapphires  are  found  in  various  places,  each 
locality  producing  its  distinctive  shade. 

The  finest  specimens  are  termed  Cashmere 
sapphires,  and  occur  in  the  Himalaya  Moun¬ 
tains  of  the  State  of  Kashmir  in  India.  These 


GEM  CUTTING  IN  CEYLON 


SAPPHIRES 


59 


gems  possess  a  velvety  luster,  and  a  vivid  color 
of  the  true  cornflower  shade ,  without  the  slightest 
trace  of  green  or  black. 

Another  important  locality  for  sapphires  is 
Burmah.  These  Burmah  or  oriental  sapphires 
have  a  much  darker  shade  of  blue.  While  they 
bear  the  name  Burmah,  most  of  the  stones  come 
from  the  adjacent  country  of  Siam.  The  most 
important  mine  is  the  Bo  Pie  Rim  mine,  in 
Battambang. 

Cey.on  produces  sapphires  of  very  light 
shades,  ranging  from  delicate  pale  gray  blue  to 
purplish  blue. 

The  sapphires  found  in  Australia  are  generally 
poor  in  color,  and  although  fine  gems  occur  they 
are  exceedingly  rare. 

In  our  own  country  fine  sapphires  have  been  Montana 
found  in  Yogo  Gulch,  Montana.  These  stones  SaPP^res 
have  a  fine  electric  blue  tint,  and  the  larger 
sizes  which  are  occasionally  found  are  very 
valuable,  approaching  in  price  the  oriental. 

Most  of  the  Montana  sapphires  which  are 
found  near  Helena  are  small, — one  carat  and 
less,  —  but  are  of  a  very  uniform  color  and  are 
especially  suited  to  be  cut  into  round  stones. 

The  Montana  sapphires  have  been  known  since 
1865,  but  the  mines  were  first  systematically 
worked  in  1891.  Since  that  time  they  have 


6o 


SAPPHIRES 


Star  Sapphire 
Cutting  and 
Formation 


Sapphires 
in  History 


always  been  by  far  the  most  valuable  gem- 
mineral  resource  of  the  United  States. 

An  exceedingly  beautiful  and  interesting 
variation  in  gems  is  the  star  sapphire  and  star 
ruby.  These  are  very  valuable  when  the  star 
marking  is  well  defined  and  shows  a  fine,  six- 
pointed  star,  which  is  always  more  clearly 
defined  when  seen  under  an  artificial  light. 
Star  sapphires  and  rubies  are  always  cut 
cabochon,  with  the  center  of  the  star  at  the 
apex  of  the  cabochon.  What  causes  the  for¬ 
mation  of  the  star  is  not  definitely  known,  but 
it  is  probably  due  to  the  presence  of  a  foreign 
substance  in  the  sapphire  or  ruby. 

In  history  both  these  gems  are  of  great 
interest.  Rubies  are  mentioned  in  the  Bible 
in  the  Proverbs  and  in  the  Book  of  Job.  The 
Greeks  and  Romans  ascribe  to  the  ruby  the 
power  of  emitting  light  in  darkness;  the  Hindus 
describe  the  abodes  of  their  gods  as  being 
lighted  with  rubies. 

Sapphires  were  also  known  in  ancient  times, 
which  is  attested  by  the  fact  that  the  word 
sapphire  is  nearly  the  same  in  all  languages. 

The  gem  was  believed  to  be  a  destroyer  of 
poison  and  a  powerful  charm,  protecting  the 
wearer  from  fever. 

Dr.  O.  C.  Farrington  states  that  “  Burton,  the 


SAPPHIRES 


61 


African  traveler,  is  said  always  to  have  carried 
a  star  sapphire  about  with  him  as  a  means  of 
gaining  respect  from  the  barbarous  peoples 
among  whom  he  journeyed.  The  savages 
believed  that  the  stone  must  be  a  talisman  of 
great  power  and  feared  to  incur  the  owner’s 
enmity.” 


The  Emerald 


Composition 
and  Hardness 
of  Emeralds 


Color  arid 
Perfection 


Beryl  is  a  mineral  known  to  gem  lovers  under 
several  different  names,  the  most  valued  of 
which  is  the  Emerald.  The  mineral  beryl  com¬ 
posing  the  various  gems  is  practically  the  same 
in  composition,  hardness,  and  other  properties, 
and  the  gems  may  be  differentiated  only  by 
their  color.  In  composition  beryl  is  a  silicate 
of  aluminum  and  glucinum.  On  the  scale  of 
hardness  beryl  is  graded  to  8,  and  is  thus 
much  softer  than  the  diamond,  ruby,  or  sapphire. 
It  is  owing  to  this  fact  that  the  emerald  scratches 
easily  and  that  care  must  be  taken  that  when 
worn  it  is  not  subject  to  chafing  by  diamonds 
or  other  harder  gems. 

Beryl  as  a  mineral  is  of  quite  common  occur¬ 
rence,  and  the  crystals  of  the  mineral  in  its 
cruder  form  often  grow  to  enormous  size. 
There  is  one  such  single  crystal  preserved  in 
the  Boston  Museum  of  Natural  History,  which 
is  three  and  one  half  feet  long  and  three  feet 
wide  and  weighs  several  tons. 

Beryl  in  this  common  form  occurs  in  many 


EMERALDS 


63 


localities,  but  the  mineral  in  its  rarer  form  of 
emerald  is  comparatively  of  very  rare  occur¬ 
rence.  The  emerald  or  green  beryl,  as  it  should 
be  scientifically  known,  has  long  been  the  most 
highly  prized  of  the  green  gems.  In  brilliancy 
it  exceeds  ail  other  green  gems  excepting  only 
the  very  rare  green  sapphire.  The  most  valuable 
specimens  exhibit  a  vivid  grass-green  shade, 
and  it  is  to  this  color  that  they  owe  their  great 
value.  Other  considerations,  such  as  freedom 
from  imperfections,  are  quite  secondary  in 
determining  the  value  of  the  stone.  In  fact  a 
perfect  emerald  is  almost  never  found,  and  this 
circumstance  has  passed  into  an  Eastern  simile 
which  runs,  “As  scarce  as  a  perfect  emerald,” 
this  being  a  symbol  for  the  acme  of  rarity.  The 
emerald  is  light  in  weight  and  an  emerald  of  a 
given  size  will  be  about  a  third  larger  than  a 
diamond  and  forty-five  per  cent  larger  than  a 
sapphire  of  equal  weight.  The  distinctive  color 
of  the  emerald  is  probably  due  to  a  trace  of 
chromium  in  its  composition. 

The  largest  source  of  supply  of  fine  emeralds 
is  a  mine  in  Muso,  a  locality  about  seventy-five 
miles  northwest  of  Bogota,  in  the  United  States 
of  Colombia.  This  mine  has  been  worked 
almost  continuously  since  1558,  but  the  wildness 
of  the  region  and  the  barbarity  of  the  aborigines 


Weight 


Where  most 
good 

Emeralds 
are  Found 


64 


EMERALDS 


has  made  the  working  of  the  mine,  at  least  until 
recently,  quite  precarious. 

Form  of  Fine  emeralds  are  generally  cut  cushion  shape 

Cutting  step  cutting,  and  in  the  East  are  often 

cut  cabochon.  Fine  emeralds  have  advanced 
very  rapidly  during  the  last  few  years,  both  on 
account  of  the  growing  demand  of  fashion  for  the 
gems  and  the  scarcity  of  really  fine  specimens. 

Many  interesting  stories  are  told  of  the  first 
emeralds  taken  by  the  early  conquerors  of  Peru 
to  Spain,  and  a  certain  Joseph  D’Acosta  is  said 
to  have  returned  to  Spain  in  1587  with  two  chests 
of  emeralds,  each  of  which  weighed  over  one 
hundred  pounds.  The  truth  of  this  story  may 
be  questioned,  but  it  is  a  fact  that  the  stones 
were  highly  prized  and  much  used  by  the  Incas 
in  the  extraordinary  civilization  which  once 
existed  in  Peru.  The  emerald  was  highly  prized 
by  the  ancients  and  by  gem  lovers  of  the  middle 
ages,  and  this  accounts  for  many  interesting 
legends  and  superstitions  relating  to  the  gem. 


The  A qu amarine 


Aquamarine  is  another  of  the  gems  composed 
of  Beryl.  It  occurs  in  colors  of  light  sky  blue, 
greenish  blue,  or  greenish  yellow.  The  light 
sky-blue  stone  is  the  one  of  the  most  value,  and 
is  very  brilliant,  especially  by  artificial  light. 
Recently  aquamarines  have  become  more  and 
more  popular,  and  this  is  doubtless  due  to  the 
discovery  of  many  fine  masses  of  the  crystal. 
Some  of  the  finest  of  these  are  in  Siberia,  India, 
Brazil,  and  in  many  different  localities  in  the 
United  States,  notably  in  North  Carolina.  The 
color  of  the  aquamarine  may  be  altered  by 
various  artificial  means,  and  experiments  along 
this  line  have  been  undertaken  for  many  years 
by  some  of  the  German  universities,  resulting 
in  the  discovery  of  a  method  by  which  in  rare 
cases  the  less  valuable  greenish-blue  variety  may 
be  changed  to  a  shade  of  light  sky  blue  of  great 
value  without  altering  the  stone  to  any  per¬ 
ceptible  degree.  Because  of  this,  it  is  thought 
that  the  coloring  matter  in  the  gem  must  be 
organic. 


Colors 


Where 

Found 


66 


AQUAMARINES 


Biblical 

Mention 


The  history  of  the  aquamarine  is  not  as  com¬ 
plete  as  that  of  the  more  valued  stones.  A 
notable  biblical  mention  of  the  stone  is,  however, 
found  in  the  Song  of  Solomon, 


“O  daughters  of  Jerusalem, 

This  is  my  beloved,  and  this  is  my  friend. 
His  hands  are  as  gold  rings  set  with  the  beryl.” 


In  the  middle  ages,  beryl  was  supposed  to  give 
its  wearer  cheerfulness  and  to  compose  the 
heart  and  mind.  It  was  called,  in  fact,  the 
“sweet-tempered  stone,”  and  these  qualities 
might  perhaps  account  for  the  presence  of  a 
piece  of  blue  beryl  in  the  English  crown. 


« 


The  T  OURMALINE 


Tourmaline  is  like  beryl,  a  mineral  which  is  Brilliancy 
in  itself  of  great  interest,  especially  to  scientists, 
and  one  which  in  smaller  crystals  sometimes 
attains  such  beauty  of  coloring  and  brilliancy 
as  to  become  of  rare  charm  as  a  gem. 

Tourmaline  has  always  puzzled  scientific  Its 
authorities  in  determining  its  composition,  and  C°mP0Sltwn 
in  lack  of  a  concise  or  authoritative  definition 
of  the  chemicals  composing  it,  we  will  quote  the 
following  description  of  its  composition  given 
by  Ruskin,  in  his  “Ethics  of  the  Dust”:  “A 
little  of  everything,  there’s  always  flint  and 
clay  and  magnesia  in  it;  and  the  black  is  iron 
according  to  its  fancy;  and  there’s  boracic 
acid,  if  you  know  what  that  is,  and  if  you  don’t, 

I  cannot  tell  you  today,  and  it  doesn’t  signify, 
and  there’s  potash  and  soda;  and  on  the  whole, 
the  chemistry  of  it  is  more  like  a  medieval 
doctor’s  prescription  than  the  making  of  a 
respectable  mineral.” 

As  we  noted  at  first,  tourmaline  as  a  mineral 
is  quite  distinct  from  its  rarer  gem  species. 


68 


TOURMALINES 


Its  Colors 


Tourmaline 

Mines 


As  a  mineral  it  occurs  in  an  opaque  form, 
colored  either  black  or  brown,  and  is  quite 
common  as  a  rock-forming  mineral,  resembling 
somewhat  in  its  occurrence  in  this  form,  horn- 
blend.  These  crystals  often  possess  strange 
and  beautiful  qualities,  notably  that  of  having 
a  strong  dichroism ,  that  is,  the  same  crystals 
often  have  different  colors,  being  at  one  end 
red  and  at  the  other  end  green;  or,  on  the  other 
hand,  the  crystal  may  show  a  blue  center,  then 
a  colorless  zone,  and  then  one  red  and  one 
green,  and  furthermore  the  crystal  will  always 
show  two  different  colors  according  as  it  is 
viewed  from  one  angle  or  another.  The  beauty 
of  these  changing  colors  is  often  very  striking, 
and  is  the  chief  cause  which  has  led  the  tour¬ 
maline  to  be  widely  appreciated  as  a  gem. 

In  the  cutting  of  the  gem  skill  is  necessary  in 
order  to  so  cut  the  specimen  that  it  will  exhibit 
its  most  beautiful  color.  The  most  valued 
colors  are,  as  a  rule,  dark  red,  sometimes  almost 
approaching  that  of  the  ruby,  and  dark  green 
shading  to  blue  or  yellow. 

One  of  the  chief  localities  for  the  mining  of 
the  gem  tourmaline  is  Paris,  Maine.  The  dis¬ 
covery  of  this  source  was  mainly  accidental. 
Two  boys  of  the  neighborhood,  Elisha  L.  Hamlin 
and  Ezekiel  Holmes,  had  for  some  time  been 


TOURMALINES 


69 


interested  in  the  study  of  the  minerals  which 
were  of  frequent  occurrence  in  the  fields  about 
their  homes.  One  day  in  the  fall  of  1820,  after 
hunting  some  time  for  specimens,  they  were 
attracted  by  the  gleam  of  something  green  at 
the  roots  of  a  tree.  They  eagerly  secured  the 
mineral,  and  found  it  to  be  a  beautiful  green 
tourmaline.  However,  it  was  late  in  the  day 
and  their  explorations  could  not  go  further. 
Then  chance  further  delayed  the  discovery  of 
more  of  the  beautiful  crystals,  for  that  night  it 
snowed  heavily,  and  no  further  work  could  be 
done  in  the  frozen  ground  until  the  following 
spring.  But  writh  the  first  thaw  the  boys  worked 
with  great  interest,  and  soon  secured  many  fine 
gems.  Since  that  time  the  locality  hasbeen  exten¬ 
sively  worked,  and  some  of  the  gems  taken  from 
it  have  found  places  in  the  crowns  of  kings.  Ten 
years  ago  it  was  estimated  that  $50,000  worth  of 
tourmalines  had  been  taken  from  this  one  spot. 

Other  localities  for  mining  tourmalines  are 
California,  which  furnishes  in  particular  the 
red  tourmaline,  Brazil,  Siberia,  and  Ceylon. 

Since  tourmalines  are  of  relatively  recent  dis¬ 
covery  there  are  no  historical  associations  coupled 
with  them,  and  no  legends  are  related  of  them, 
although  the  story  of  their  strange  discovery  and 
the  beauty  of  the  gem  would  seem  to  deserve  this. 


The  Alexandrite 


Discovery 


Hardness 
and  Color 


Cat' s -eye 


This  gem  was  first  found  in  Takovaya,  in  the 
Ural  Mountains  of  Siberia,  in  1830,  on  the 
anniversary  of  the  birth  of  Alexander  II,  Czar 
of  Russia,  and  because  of  that  circumstance  and 
since  green  and  red  —  the  colors  of  the  gem  — 
are  also  Russia’s  national  colors,  it  was  named, 
in  honor  of  the  Czar,  Alexandrite. 

The  mineral  composing  the  gem  is  Chrysoberyl , 
which  resembles  beryl  in  composition  but  is 
remarkable  for  its  hardness,  being  graded  8.5. 
The  alexandrite  shows  ordinarily  an  emerald- 
green  color,  but  changes  by  artificial  light  to  a 
beautiful  red,  and  has,  therefore,  the  unique 
property  of  resembling  somewhat  “an  emerald 
by  day  and  a  ruby  by  night.”  Much  of  the 
mineral  is  found,  but  transparent  pieces  which 
can  be  used  as  gems  are  of  very  rare  occur¬ 
rence,  and  Alexandrites  are  therefore  very  valu¬ 
able,  besides  being  unique  in  the  beauty  of 
their  double  colors. 

A  more  common  variety  of  chrysoberyl  is  the 
gem  known  as  Cat’s-eye,  which  always  shows 


ALEXANDRITE 


7 1 


the  familiar  band  of  color  in  the  center.  Most 
of  the  stones  are  cut  cabochon,  in  order  to  best 
display  this  property.  Most  of  the  cat’s-eyes 
now  come  from  Brazil  and  Ceylon. 


The  Opal 


Composition 


“The  opal,  when  pure  and  uncut  in  its  native 
rock,  presents  the  most  lovely  colors  seen  in 
the  world,  except  those  of  clouds,”  says  Ruskin, 
in  his  lecture  on  “Color.”  The  mineral  com¬ 
posing  the  opal  does  not,  however,  always  show 
the  brilliancy  of  colors  which  we  usually  associ¬ 
ate  with  the  gem.  Chemically,  it  is  an  oxide  of 
silica,  and  is  therefore  much  similar  to  quartz. 
As  a  mineral,  opal  is  quite  common,  and  one 
of  its  interesting  occurrences  is  in  the  Yellowstone 
Park,  where  the  geyser  and  hot  spring  forma¬ 
tions  are  composed  almost  entirely  of  this  silicate 
known  here  as  geyserite.  It  may  be  said,  there¬ 
fore,  that  the  waters  of  the  park  build  up  cones 
of  opal  and  fall  into  opal  basins.  In  the  rarer 
form  in  which  it  displays  its  many  fascinating 
colors  the  gem  is  of  comparatively  rare  occur¬ 
rence.  The  most  noted  and  most  ancient  mines 
are  those  of  Czernowitza,  in  northern  Hungary. 
It  is  well  established  that  the  Romans  obtained 
their  opals  from  these  mines.  At  the  present 
day,  however,  this  ancient  source  has  become 


OPALS 


73 


superseded  by  the  more  abundant  mines  in 
New  South  Wales. 

Why  the  opal  displays  so  many  brilliant 
colors  has  been  somewhat  of  a  riddle  to  scientists. 

The  most  probable  theory  of  the  varied  coloring 
is  that  it  is  formed  by  strata  in  the  stone, 
containing  different  percentages  of  water  which 
break  up  the  ray  of  light  similarly  as  a  prism 
does.  The  most  beautiful  and  fascinating  opals 
are  the  dark  ones,  known  as  black  opals.  These 
come  from  Australia,  and  since  they  are  in 
great  demand  today,  command  large  prices. 

In  history  the  opal  has  always  been  famous  Superstitions 
and  was  very  highly  prized  by  the  Romans. 

In  contradiction  to  the  superstitions  that  are 
now  associated  with  the  gem  by  some  people 
the  opal  was  then  regarded  as  having  the  virtues 
of  all  the  stones  whose  colors  it  displayed.  It 
was  supposed  to  cheer  the  despondent  and  was 
in  general  a  symbol  of  hope.  And  like  the 
turquoise,  it  was  believed  to  change  color  if  its 
wearer  grew  ill  and  regain  it  when  he  recovered. 


The  Am  ethyst 


Color ,  etc. 


Where 

Found 


The  common  mineral  quartz  in  one  of  its 
rarer  forms  is  known  to  us  as  amethyst.  It  is 
the  only  gem  which  displays  a  beautiful  violet 
color.  This  color  is  thought  to  be  caused  by 
organic  matter  within  the  crystal,  and  this 
theory  is  supported  by  the  fact  that  the 
amethyst  when  heated  first  changes  to  yellow 
and  then  entirely  loses  its  color. 

The  chief  sources  of  supply  of  amethysts  are 
now  located  in  Siberia  and  Brazil,  although  a 
very  few  stones  have  occasionally  been  found 
in  the  State  of  Maine.  The  finest  stones  must 
have  a  rich,  dark  violet  color,  while  the  lighter 
shades  are  of  much  less  value.  In  former  times 
the  amethyst  was  much  more  highly  valued 
than  at  present,  owing,  no  doubt,  to  the  relative 
scarcity  of  the  gem  at  that  time.  But  it  must 
ever  continue  to  be  highly  prized  for  the  in¬ 
trinsic  beauty  of  its  violet  color. 

The  amethyst  has  with  many  other  gems 
a  long  history.  Its  name  is  derived  from 
two  Greek  words,  meaning  “not  to  inebriate,” 


AME  THY  STS 


75 


indicating  that  it  was  the  belief  of  the  ancients 
that  anything  drunk  from  cups  of  this  mineral 
could  never  produce  any  deleterious  effect. 
During  the  middle  ages  it  long  figured  as  a 
pious  or  episcopal  gem  and  was  long  sacred  to 
the  Church. 


The  Moonstone 


The  moonstone  is  a  form  of  felspar,  and 
comes  chiefly  from  Ceylon.  There  it  occurs  in 
large  pieces  in  clay.  When  properly  polished 
the  gem  exhibits  a  beautiful  pale-blue  light 
coming  from  within.  The  cause  of  this  light  is 
hard  to  explain,  but  is  thought  to  be  a  reflection 
from  minute  tabular  crystals  arranged  in  parallel 
position  in  the  stone.  Moonstone,  like  most  of 
the  more  or  less  opaque  gems,  is  usually  cut 
cabochon  form.  The  stone  is  now  becoming 
more  and  more  popular. 


The  T u r qu o i s e 


This  mineral  is  remarkable  among  all  the 
gem  minerals  in  not  being  transparent  and  in 
never  occurring  in  the  form  of  a  fine  crystal. 

In  composition  turquoise  is  a  hydrus  phosphate 
of  aluminum.  The  gem  is  rather  soft;  its  grade 
is  No.  6. 

The  ancient  supply  of  fine  turquoise  came  from  Sources  of 
a  mine  not  far  from  Nishapur,  in  Persia,  and  Supply 
the  mining  of  the  gems  in  that  locality  is  said 
to  have  supported  the  entire  population  of  the 
town.  The  mines  must  be  very  ancient.  A 
description  of  one  was  written  in  the  year 
1300  a.d.  and  according  to  a  popular  tradition, 
one  of  the  mines,  known  as  Isaac’s  Mine,  was 
opened  by  Isaac,  son  of  Abraham.  At  the 
present  time  most  of  the  turquoise  come  from 
New  Mexico.  These  mines  also  are  very  old 
and  were  first  worked  by  the  Spaniards,  it  is 
said,  by  consent  of  the  Indians,  who  still 
inhabited  the  land. 

The  predominating  color  of  the  turquoise  is  C°l°r 
green,  while  on  the  other  hand  the  color  of 


78 


TOU  RQUOISE 


most  value  is  blue,  and  most  turquoise  are  not 
free  from  the  imperfection  of  turning  green  by 
exposure  during  the  course  of  time. 

Turquoise  are  sometimes  artificially  stained, 
but  this  can  be  easily  detected,  and  is  of  little  in¬ 
terest  to  the  real  admirer  of  this  interesting  gem. 

Owing  to  their  early  discovery  the  turquoise 
has  always  been  prized  by  Eastern  people,  and 
amongst  oriental  people  is  still  considered  of 
great  value.  Superstition,  as  usual,  mingles 
in  this  estimate  of  value,  and  it  is  stated  by  good 
authority  that  turquoise  are  still  used  in  the 
East  as  a  remedy  for  dyspepsia  and  insanity. 
It  has  also  been  supposed  since  earliest  times 
to  bring  its  wearer  good  fortune,  and  one  of  the 
proverbs  of  the  Oriental  is,  “A  turquoise  given 
by  a  loving  hand  carries  with  it  happiness  and 
good  fortune.” 


SCENE  IN  AZURE  TURQUOISE  MINE,  NEW  MEXICO 


The  Chrysolite 


Chrysolite  as  a  name  for  gems  is  unique,  in 
that  it  seems  to  have  been  used  for  several 
gems  in  ancient  biblical  times,  but  now  appears 
to  have  disappeared  and  given  place  to  several 
other  names  for  the  mineral,  of  which  Peridot 
is  used  for  designating  the  deep  olive-green 
variety,  Olivine  when  the  mineral  is  yellowish 
green,  and  Chrysolite  only  when  the  gem  is 
of  a  lighter  or  golden-yellow  color.  The  name 
chrysolite  means  “gold  stone.”  Aside  from 
the  beauty  of  the  colors  afforded  by  the  three 
gems,  Peridot,  Olivine,  and  Chrysolite,  the 
origin  of  the  mineral  is  perhaps  its  most  in¬ 
teresting  property.  Although  many  of  the  gems 
are  now  known,  it  is  very  hard  to  determine 
exactly  where  they  have  been  found.  They 
are  reported  to  come  from  Burmah,  Ceylon, 
Egypt,  and  from  Brazil,  but  it  is  impossible 
to  ascertain  the  exact  locality.  Because  of  this 
obscurity,  Kunz  states  that  nearly  all  the  chryso¬ 
lite  used  in  modern  times  has  been  taken  out 
of  old  jewelry,  and  it  is,  therefore,  probable 


Peridot 

and 

Olivine 


8o 


CHRYSOLITE 


that  the  old  localities  are  either  forgotten  or 
exhausted.  There  is,  however,  one  very  striking 
source  for  the  gem.  The  mineral  is  known  to 
be  an  essential  constituent  of  meteorites,  and 
crystals  are  often  found  in  these  masses  large 
enough  to  be  of  value  as  gems.  It  is  thus  an 
interesting  fact  that  chrysolite  is  the  only  gem 
which  comes  to  us  from  spaces  of  which  we 
know  nothing,  actually  beyond  the  earth. 

Mention  Chrysolite  has,  as  I  have  stated,  long  been 
i  h  t  It  e  •  •  • 

known,  and  is  frequently  mentioned  in  the 

Bible  and  in  ancient  literature,  but  much  of 

the  mineral  then  known  as  chrysolite  was  in 

reality  topaz.  An  interesting  fable  of  its 

discovery  in  those  early  times  is  related.  Dio- 

dones  Siculus  says  of  the  stone,  “That  it  was 

not  discernible  by  day,  but  was  bright  at 

night,  so  it  could  be  seen  by  the  patrol.  The 

latter  would  cover  the  luminous  spot  with  a 

vase,  and  the  next  day  come  and  cut  out  the 

rock  at  the  place  indicated.  After  being 

polished  a  beautiful  chrysolite  would  appear.” 


The  Spinel 


Spinel  is  a  mineral  somewhat  similar  to 
ruby,  but  as  spinel  gems  are  quite  different 
from  true  rubies,  so  the  mineral  spinel  is  quite 
distinct  from  the  mineral  of  the  true  ruby,  which 
is  corundum.  In  composition  spinel  is  almost 
wholly  a  magnesia  aluminate,  and  in  hardness  is 
much  softer  than  the  ruby,  being  No.  8,  or 
no  harder  than  the  topaz,  while  the  ruby  is 
No.  9. 

Spinel  occurs  in  various  colors,  but  the  most 
valuable  color  is  red,  called  the  spinel  ruby. 
From  the  fact  that  the  spinel  so  closely  ap¬ 
proaches  the  ruby  in  appearance,  it  has  often 
been  confounded  with  it,  and  in  cases  of  fraud 
spinel  is  sometimes  sold  in  place  of  the  corundum 
ruby.  In  its  own  sphere,  however,  the  spinel  is 
a  beautiful  gem,  and  while  never  found  in  very 
large  sizes,  has  yet  been  so  highly  prized  that 
it  is  found  amongst  the  crown  jewels  of  several 
nations.  The  ruby  of  the  “Black  Prince,” 
which  is  shown  among  the  crown  jewels  of 
England,  is  a  notable  example  of  spinel. 


Composition 

and 

Hardness 


Black 

Prince 

Ruby 


82 


SPINELS 


Where 

Found 


Its  Colors 


As  spinel  is  related  to  corundum  in  composi¬ 
tion  and  appearance  so  it  is  also  often  found 
associated  with  it  in  nature.  The  gem  gravels 
of  Ceylon,  Siam,  Australia,  and  Brazil  contain 
spinel  rubies,  and  the  true  corundum  rubies  side 
by  side,  but  the  commercial  source  of  spinel 
rubies  is  now  almost  entirely  a  locality  called 
Badakschan,  in  Afghanistan,  on  the  banks  of 
the  Oxus.  According  to  a  Persian  tradition 
these  mines  were  first  disclosed  when  the  moun¬ 
tain  was  rent  in  twain  by  an  earthquake. 

Besides  the  ruby  spinel  the  mineral  occurs 
in  several  other  colors,  which  may  be  used  as 
gems,  viz.:  red,  orange,  green,  blue,  indigo,  and 
also  black  and  white.  Colorless  spinels  are  occa¬ 
sionally  passed  in  cases  of  fraud  as  diamonds, 
but  the  deceit  may  be  readily  detected. 

While  the  mineral  spinel  may  be  used  as  a 
gem  in  all  the  colors  in  which  it  occurs,  the 
only  shades  which  are  abundant  enough  to 
deserve  special  notice,  aside  from  the  red,  are 
the  blue  and  black.  Blue  spinel  resembles  the 
sapphire  in  color,  although  it  is  somewhat 
paler.  It  comes  chiefly  from  Ceylon  and  Bur- 
mah,  where  it  is  found  with  the  ruby  spinel. 
The  black  spinel  is  known  as  Ceylonite  and 
comes  also  from  Ceylon. 

In  ancient  times  spinel  rubies  and  corundum 


SPINELS 


83 


rubies  were  equally  well  known,  and  the  two  Legend 
were  probably  often  confounded.  Dr.  O.  C. 
Farrington,  in  his  delightful  book,  relates  as 
usual  some  interesting  superstitions  regarding 
the  spinel.  In  the  middle  ages,  for  instance,  it 
was  believed  that,  “if  one  touched  with  this  gem 
the  four  corners  of  a  house,  orchard,  or  vine¬ 
yard,  they  would  be  protected  from  lightning, 
storms,  and  the  like.” 


The  Topaz 


Composition 

and 

Hardness 


Topaz  is  a  mineral  which  has  been  known  and 
prized  since  biblical  times  for  its  remarkable 
clearness  and  transparency.  Its  decline  in 
popularity  some  time  ago  was  due  mainly  to  the 
fact  that  many  far  inferior  stones  were  wrongly 
termed  topaz.  The  real  topaz  is  now,  however, 
being  more  and  more  appreciated. 

The  real  topaz  is  a  silicate  of  aluminum  and  is 
remarkably  heavy,  and  is  also  quite  hard,  being 
No.  8.  The  usual  color  of  the  gem  is  yellow,  but 
topaz  are  also  found  in  many  other  shades.  As 
is  the  case  with  aquamarine,  the  color  may 
often  be  altered  by  artificial  means.  The  yellow 
topaz  of  Brazil  may,  for  example,  be  changed 
to  a  pale  rose  pink  by  heating,  and  this  is  often 
done.  The  heating  and  cooling  of  the  gem 
must  be  done  very  carefully  and  slowly,  but  the 
operation  presents  no  difficulty  to  an  expert, 
and  the  pink  color  when  once  secured  is  abso¬ 
lutely  permanent.  Crystals  of  the  topaz  mineral 
often  grow  to  large  size,  and  occasionally 
specimens  of  sufficient  clearness  to  be  used  as 


TOPAZ 


85 


gems  are  found  of  remarkable  size.  Perhaps  the 
largest  cut  topaz  is  the  one  presented  to  Pope 
Leo,  in  1902,  which  weighed  nearly  four  pounds. 

The  most  abundant  source  of  the  gem  is  an 
island  called  Topazios,  in  the  Red  Sea,  and 
from  this  word  is  formed  the  present  name  of 
the  gem.  In  modern  times  the  largest  supply  of 
topaz  has  come  from  Brazil.  It  is  here  usually 
found  in  pebbles  amongst  the  gravel  of  streams. 
Ordinarily  occurring  as  a  matrix  in  talcose  rock 
of  mica  slate,  the  action  of  the  stream  has  worn 
away  the  softer  matrix,  and  thus  disclosed  the 
topaz  in  a  round  and  worn  form,  but  entirely 
free  from  the  matrix,  and  known  in  the  region 
as  pingos  d’aqua ,  meaning  drops  of  water.  They 
are  also  called  by  the  Portuguese  “slave's 
diamonds ,”  and  occasionally  a  fine  example  will 
approximate  in  appearance  a  diamond;  in  fact, 
a  stone  in  the  crown  of  Portugal  reputed  to  be  a 
diamond  of  1680  carats  weight,  and  called  the 
Braganza,  is  probably  a  topaz  of  exceptional 
clearness  and  beauty. 

Another  noted  locality  for  topaz  are  the 
Imperial  mines  of  Russia,  in  the  Ural  Moun¬ 
tains.  Superb  topaz  are  cut  from  the  crystals 
found  there,  but  the  finest  examples  are  now 
preserved  for  the  Imperial  collection.  Many 
localities  in  the  United  States  also  afford  topaz. 


Where 

Found 


86 


TOPAZ 


Mention 
in  the 
Bible 


Legend 


In  biblical  times  topaz  was  a  very  highly 
prized  gem,  and  in  Revelations  is  mentioned  as 
forming  one  of  the  gates  of  the  Holy  City.  It 
is  also  related  that  the  King  of  Tyre  wore  a 
topaz.  However,  the  gems  spoken  of  under 
this  name  were  probably  chrysolite,  while  what 
the  ancients  termed  chrysolite  would  now  be 
known  as  topaz. 

A  charming  legend  is  told  of  a  topaz  supposed 
to  be  presented  by  Lady  Hildegarde,  wife  of 
Theodoric  of  Holland,  to  a  monastery  in  her 
native  town.  It  is  said  to  have  emitted  at 
night  a  light  so  brilliant  that  prayers  could  be 
read  in  the  chapel,  where  it  was  kept,  without 
the  aid  of  a  light. 


The  Garnet 


Garnet  is  a  gem  mineral  which  varies  greatly 
in  composition,  and  in  its  various  forms  is 
known  under  the  different  names  of  almandite 
or  almandine ,  pyrope ,  rhodolite ,  cape  ruby ,  and 
carbuncle.  The  color  is  usually  a  dark  red,  but 
the  mineral  also  occurs  in  green,  rose,  and 
brown  tints.  The  mineral  is  a  silicate,  and  the 
other  components  of  its  composition  determine 
which  particular  variety  of  garnet  it  is.  Gar¬ 
nets  often  occur  as  small  grains  in  beach  sand 
because  the  rocks  in  which  the  minerals  occur 
are  more  easily  weathered  away  than  the  garnet 
which  thus  remains  in  the  form  of  sand.  The 
garnet  crystals  are  then  always  found  near  the 
water’s  edge,  since  the  specific  gravity  of  the 
mineral  is  high  and  the  waves  can,  therefore, 
carry  it  only  a  short  distance  up  the  beach. 
The  name  garnet  comes  probably  from  the 
Latin  word  granatus ,  meaning  like  a  grain.  It 
is  said  to  have  arisen  because  the  crystals  were 
thought  to  resemble  in  color  and  size  the  seeds 
of  the  pomegranate. 


Names  of 
Garnet 


88 


GA  RN  E  TS 


The  garnet  most  valued  as  a  gem  is  termed 
almandite,  and  is  of  a  rich  cherry,  claret,  or 
blood-red  color.  These  stones  were  first  mined 
near  the  city  of  Alabanda,  in  Asia  Minor,  and 
the  same  source  was  much  exploited  by  the 
Romans  in  their  day.  The  stones  are  still  known 
as  Syrian  garnets.  This  same  mineral  occurs  in 
large  quantities  near  the  mouth  of  the  Stickeen 
River,  Alaska,  but  is  not  of  sufficient  trans¬ 
parency  to  be  greatly  used  as  a  gem. 

Another  variety,  and  probably  the  most 
numerous  one  of  the  garnet  mineral,  is  known  as 
pyrope.  It  does  not  vary  much  in  color  from 
almandite.  The  mineral  is  almost  always 
found  in  eruptive  or  volcanic  rocks,  and  is  a 
constituent  of  the  diamond-bearing  blueground 
of  South  Africa.  From  this  fact  the  finer 
specimens  of  the  gem  are  termed  in  the  trade 
cape  rubies. 

The  home  of  the  pyrope  is,  however,  Bohemia. 
Although  the  stones  were  known  in  this  region 
for  centuries  it  was  not  until  after  Karlsbad 
had  become  an  international  center  that  interest 
was  taken  in  the  scientific  mining  and  polishing 
of  the  gems.  Since  then  the  fame  of  these 
garnets  and  their  usefulness  in  the  arts  when 
not  of  sufficient  fineness  for  jewels  has  led  to  a 
thorough  exploitation  of  the  field,  and  Bohemia 


GARNETS 


89 


may  be  considered  to  have  been  for  many  years 
the  garnet  center  of  the  world.  As  has  been 
said,  these  garnets  should  technically  be  called 
pyrope,  which  is  derived  from  the  Greek  word 
meaning  “fire,”  a  name  given  them  in  ancient 
times  because  of  their  brilliant  color. 

In  America  some  fine  garnets  have  been  found. 
These  are  termed,  however,  rhodolite,  or  Ameri¬ 
can  rubies ,  and  are  really  much  like  almandite. 
They  occur  most  abundantly  in  Arizona,  New 
Mexico,  and  southern  Colorado.  They  are 
especially  abundant  among  anthills,  being  re¬ 
moved  by  the  ants  because  their  size  stands  in 
the  way  of  the  excavations  of  the  busy  insects. 
They  are  gathered  largely  by  the  Navajo 
Indians  and  are  sold  to  American  gem  dealers. 
In  color  and  brilliancy  they  often  surpass  the 
African  gems  known  as  cape  rubies. 

The  word  carbuncle  is  often  popularly  used  to 
designate  a  garnet.  This,  however,  is  a  mis¬ 
nomer.  Ordinarily  any  fine  red  stone  cut  en 
cabochon  might  be  termed  a  carbuncle.  This 
latter  name  came  from  the  Roman  word 
carbunculus,  which  in  turn  is  a  derivation  of 
the  Latin  word  carbo,  meaning  coal,  and  was 
at  that  time  bestowed  on  any  stone  displaying 
the  fire-like  color  and  reflection  which  is  char¬ 
acteristic  of  the  various  stones  now  termed 


A  merican 
Rubies 


Carbuncle 


90 


GARN E TS 


One  of  Oldest 
Semiprecious 
Stones  Known 


garnets.  As  all  these  stones  in  ancient  times 
were  cut  in  the  round  shape,  the  name  has  come 
down  to  us  as  carbuncle,  and  its  association 
with  the  garnet  has  always  been  preserved. 
However,  scientifically  carbuncle  refers  merely 
to  the  shape  of  the  stone,  and  not  at  all  to  its 
composition  or  mineralogical  variety. 

The  garnet  is  one  of  the  oldest  stones  known. 
In  some  of  the  most  ancient  mummies  dis¬ 
covered  in  Egypt  are  found  necklaces  and 
other  jewels  containing  garnets.  And  under 
the  name  carbuncle  the  garnet  is  mentioned  in 
the  literature  of  all  ages,  being  valued  chiefly 
for  the  brilliant  fiery  light  which  it  gives  forth. 
According  to  the  Talmud,  the  only  light  which 
Noah  had  in  the  Ark  was  afforded  by  a  car¬ 
buncle. 


The  Zircon 


Zircon  is  a  mineral  possessing  a  very  hard, 
brilliant  luster,  and  is  therefore  eminently  quali¬ 
fied  to  be  used  as  a  gem.  The  mineral  occurs  in 
various  colors.  Tints  of  brown,  violet,  and 
green  are  known  as  Zircon ,  the  red  as  Hyacinth , 
the  yellow  Jacinth ,  and  the  grayish  white  and 
white,  Jargoon.  The  latter  name  is  said  to  have 
been  given  the  white  substance  because  through 
its  great  luster  it  resembled  the  diamond,  but  is 
really  of  much  less  value. 

Transparent  crystals  of  zircon  suitable  for 
gems  come  almost  wholly  from  the  Island  of 
Ceylon,  where  they  occur  in  the  gem  gravels 
which  also  contain  rubies,  sapphires,  tourmalines, 
etc.  The  zircons  occur  in  the  form  of  rolled 
pebbles  mostly  of  comparatively  small  size. 

Zircon  is  also  found  in  many  other  localities.  It 
is  said  as  many  as  one  hundred  and  twenty  differ¬ 
ent  places  are  known  where  the  mineral  can  be 
found, but  in  all  of  thesethesupplyis  verylimited. 

The  Zircon  has  no  history,  but  its  great  bril¬ 
liancy  and  fine  colors  render  it  a  most  attractive 
if  but  little  known  gem. 


Its  Color 


Where 

Found 


Lapis  Lazuli 


An  Ancient  The  gems  known  as  lapis  lazuli  are  only  the 
^ tm  finest  specimens  of  the  comparatively  abundant 
mineral  of  the  same  name.  This  stone  was  a 
gem  of  the  Greek,  Roman,  and  Hebrew  scrip¬ 
tures,  and  throughout  ancient  times  was  very 
highly  prized.  Pliny  likens  it  to  the  blue  sky 
adorned  with  stars.  Large  quantities  of  it 
worked  by  artisans  into  various  forms  are  found 
in  early  Egyptian  tombs.  The  Chinese  have 
also  long  held  it  in  high  esteem. 

The  Asiatic  mines  from  which  the  mineral 
first  came  were  visited  by  Marco  Polo,  in 
the  year  1271  a.  d. 

The  color  of  the  mineral  is  blue.  It  is  quite 
opaque.  The  most  prized  shade  is  ultramarine, 
but  the  stone  occurs  also  in  paler  tints.  Usually 
grains  of  pyrite  are  scattered  through  the  stones 
and  from  this  effect  Pliny  was  able  to  liken  it  to 
a  “starry  sky.”  The  name  lapis  lazuli  means 
blue  stone. 

Where  The  best  lapis  lazuli  now  comes  from  Badak- 

rp  j  x 

oun  schan,  in  the  northeastern  part  of  Afghanistan. 


LAPIS  LAZULI 


93 


The  mining  is  done  in  the  most  primitive  form. 
Huge  fires  are  built  on  the  rocks,  and  water  is 
then  thrown  on  them.  Owing  to  the  sudden 
cooling  the  rocks  split  up  and  can  then  readily  be 
excavated.  The  yield,  however,  is  small,  and 
the  price  even  for  exceptionally  fine  specimens 
is  low.  China  and  other  parts  of  Asia  consume 
most  of  the  supply. 

The  color  of  the  stone,  however,  gives  it  a 
peculiar  charm,  and  the  walls  of  the  Palace 
Zarskoe-Selo,  Russia,  built  by  the  order  of 
Catherine  II,  were  entirely  lined  with  slabs  of 
lapis  lazuli  and  amber.  The  stone  was  believed 
by  the  Greeks  and  Romans  to  have  strong 
medicinal  properties,  and  when  pulverized  was 
often  used  as  a  tonic.  Even  as  late  as  the 
sixteenth  century  it  was  supposed  to  be  a  cure 
for  melancholia. 


H  IDDENITE  AND  KuNZITE 


Where 

Found 


Kunzite 

Where 

Found 


Spodumene  is  the  mineral  composing  two 
comparatively  new  and  charming  gems,  Hid- 
denite  and  Kunzite.  Ordinarily  spodumene  is  of 
a  white  or  gray  color,  and  possesses  no  great 
value  as  a  gem,  but  in  its  rarer  form  as  hiddenite 
it  possesses  a  beautiful  emerald-green  color. 
The  only  deposit  of  hiddenite  known  was  found 
accidentally  by  Mr.  W.  E.  Hidden,  through  the 
overturning  of  a  tree  on  a  farm  near  Stony 
Point,  Alexander  County,  North  Carolina.  The 
mineral  is  somewhat  hard  to  polish,  owing 
to  the  danger  of  splitting,  due  to  its  marked 
prismatic  cleavage.  Although  the  stone  pos¬ 
sesses  beautiful  qualities  as  a  gem  and  com¬ 
mands  a  high  price  it  is  unfortunately  little 
known,  as  the  mine  at  Stony  Point,  North 
Carolina,  was  reported  to  have  been  exhausted 
some  ten  years  ago  and  no  fresh  supply  of 
hiddenite  has  ever  been  discovered. 

Kunzite  is  one  of  the  newest  gem  minerals 
known.  It  was  discovered  during  the  course  of 
some  mining  for  tourmaline,  near  Pala,  San 


HIDDENITE  AND  KUNZITE  95 


Diego  County,  California,  and  was  named  in 
honor  of  Dr.  Kunz,  who  was  for  many  years 
the  special  agent  of  the  United  States  Govern¬ 
ment,  and  compiled  the  official  document  con¬ 
cerning  gems,  appearing  annually,  together 
with  other  reports,  under  the  name  of  the  “Min¬ 
eral  Resources  of  the  United  States.” 

Kunzite  is  dichroic,  and  possesses  a  charming 
and  almost  indescribable  light-blue  color,  which 
has  been  characterized  as  deep  rose  lilac  and 
delicate  pink  amethystine.  The  same  crystal 
displays  two  different  tints  when  viewed  at 
different  angles. 

The  mineral  is  now  highly  prized  as  a  gem,  and 
its  beautiful  and  delicate  color  make  it  entirely 
unique.  Unfortunately  the  supply  is  very 
limited.  The  purely  chance  discovery  of  such 
a  new  and  beautiful  gem  forms  what  might 
almost  be  regarded  as  a  romance.  Think  of 
the  chance  conjunction  in  nature  of  the  peculiar 
chemical  properties  forming  the  mineral,  then 
the  centuries  of  the  infinitesimal  growth  of  the 
crystals  from  these  solutions,  and  finally  when 
the  whole  had  reached  its  last  stage  of  per¬ 
fection,  its  chance  discovery  through  the 
prick  of  the  miner’s  pickaxe. 


Color 


TABLE  OF  PRECIOUS  AND  SEMIPRECIOUS  STONES 


G 

cu 

fc 

G 

1) 

CO 

O 

N 

X 

G 

G 

a> 

G 

O 

C2 

G 

O 

S  - 

Cu  co 

fa  CO 

OC-rr  co 

&S  2 

Ufa.” 

cj  o  — 

o 

d 

<u 

G  r/J 

o 

■4-» 

CJ 

•fa 

co 

c  c  0 
oo  p 

fa  fa 

Go  <« 

G 

a 

o 

crl3 

o  > 

crl3 
a  > 

£ 

s 

?.  2*.h 

2  -"a 
c*£!  a 

G 

CTJ 

fa 

O 

i_  d 

fa  M 

fa  d 

fa  to 

G 

G 

0^3 

cj2  2 

H  CO  M 

«-h  CO 

d  <u 

rt  «J 

frt  jrj 

U 

_U 

.2 

4J> 

U  G3 
_h  *  r  d 

rt  B 

*3  CG 
d  G  G  d  d 

2  « 

2  « 

G  d 

|  rt  B  _ 

•  S  O 
'  C  o 

Ph  J 

^3 

*-*  <JZ!  fa 

N  v 
d  <,  2 
v-  G 

£  e  -2 

5  3 

E  e-2-2  £  £s 

fa  G  CO  2?  CO 

G  <D  «  ^2  G 

d  G  '  u, 

•  ~  o 

•P  ''j3 

rt  g-c 

-2  B  s 
>•  £  2 
m  «  3 

»£’fa^2 

fa  1)  rt  2 

cj*^  o  >  - 

faco< 

facoO 

Mu3Ufa!S<: 

hh  C/5  02 

►5  CO  CO 

UwM 

Uw5U<« 

6 

JD 

G 

o 

(J 


§  2 


-2  G 
3  cS 


S  * 

».  4> 

.2  «  o 


-2  g 
cq 

,  Yel 

Pink 

lack 

1 

"S  s 

fa  2 

C 

<D 

_» 

fa 

c  o 

CJ  co 

fcO 

T3 

o 

G 

G 

o 

O 

C^4 

o  o 

o  „ 

cq 

o 

cT 

o  « 

O  ctf 

=5-* 

6 

_G 

& 

6« 

L  C2 

AS 

CO 

O 

CO 

<D 

03 

co 

o 

co 

<L) 

12 

« 

ed,  Blue, 
range,  Bro 

fl>  G 

G  d 

J  c 

fa 

O  £  O 

*o  2aH 

o3 

co 

o 

£ 

fa 

JS 

"fa 

o 

°  ^ 

fa 

-  O 

T3  ZG 

O  <l> 

Ofafa 

< 

c 

U2 

faO 

fa>1 

O 

GO  ^ 

O 

^  Ooo 

7.5 

to 

8 

00 

o« 

^  •'n 

w 

fa  CO 

d 

H-t  fa 


»COIO  ICOIO 


G 

3*0  ’ 

OJ  ^  . 

G  ° 

O 

JO 

S-S  2 

E-S  2 

fa 

d 

=  -^.§ 

22*.§ 

u 

COfa 

COfa 

_G  1  T3 
<D  G 
.t-  fa  c 

£  &  * 


g  g 

o-2 

•o  E  $*  o 

q>  o;“  G 

.5  e  «  g  2  . 


oS  G  * 
o  e 


c  u 
G  G 

O  CUD  cs 

3  ns'd 


y5<oScS 


m  • 
.3  B  g 
f?  £  ‘C  DO  « 
•3  3  =  «T3 

w<0§w 


«.2 
5  M 

G  QJ 

£  So 

3  rt 


"CM) 

£  —  « 


Q." 


O^H  2  c 

c 

«  u  -r'P 

_y  T3  S  C 


c-r 


X 
CO  O 


.2-2 

*  C/2  <d 


ss  * 
'S  s 
.s> 


Q 

S5 

O 

2 

<U 

Q 


>- 

a 

D 

P4 


<; 

W 

s 

w 


c 

D 

a 

< 


g 

£ 

02 


a 

g 

G 

c 

2 

a! 

D 

O 

H 


TABLE  OF  PRECIOUS  AND  SEMIPRECIOUS  STONES  —  Continued 


is  .« 


a 
•2 1H 
.2  & 


cj  to 

G 

c  o 


o  — . 


C  03 
§  X 

Ip 


X 

O 

O 


oS 

a 

OS 


g 


TJ  * 
G  o 
crS  •  = 


O  i? 

a.a 

<D  fl 
nn  c 


X  £ 
r»  oS 
O  D 


~o 

T3 

a> 

X 

a 


_ 

>* 

.2 

CO 

"Tj 

*> 

CO 

G 

J3 

’c 3 

G 

G  £3 

OS 

G 

CX3 

C 

etc. 

C71  >- 
oS 

ru  G 
ta  cr 

C  « 
•r  v 

PhJ 


rs  C  "C.  J3 

*T!  GJ  ^ 


UCQH 


*§ 

HH  CO  CO 


u 


x 

4_»  <U 

1 


cj  ^3 

■gsS 

£c/3 


>> 

rt  o 

C3  ,  j 

CiO.E 

c  * 

G  / 


G  "ctf 
os  v- 

>%  « 


.2  03 
U 


£N  .  _  'T-'  T2 
03  '73  Jt'  2 


03 

771  *r  a 

S  g  S  g 

*■*  <d  r5  os 
M  Ph  c/3  c/3 


o 


a 

& 

o 

Lh 

« 

bT 

o 


X 

£ 

X 

co 

*3 

s 

TJ 

CJ 

os 


O 

o 

O 


W 

x 

co 


o 

J: 

< 


a 


c^o 

CD 

*T3  O 
o3  J” 
*G  o3 

CO 

cr 

a  £ 

os  O 

Jr 


G 

£ 

O 

Uh 

M 


x 

co  G 

CO  VT" 
JD  ^ 

rv 

O  CD 

~o  -5 

CJ  CQ 


xo 

00 


o 

a 

S 

o 


-5  3 

<o 


co  co  o 


LO 
io 
CO  <M  CO 


ic  LO  #  lO 
LOHT^d 


n 


G 


^  cS 

Sjas.g’g 

c/3  <;  D-,  hJ  c/3 


i§c 
j<3  ° 

nS  O  •*<  -O 

a-c  o-a 


3  o.y  o  t5 


co  — i  »o 
co  to  — i 


"O 

E 


a  o  o  £ 

s’e-S-S  Sg  s 

•as  .3 -R  •*  «  .1  > 
«<COO^ 


«  a  b 

■a  |  J 

c/3  <1  la 


H 

CxJ 

ai 

Q 

H 

CO 

o 

w 

co 

Z 

>* 

H 

O 

H 

< 

K 

CO 

D 

W 

X 

H 

S5 

a 

j 

Z 

W 

U 

O 

c4 

05 

-J 

S 

O 

£ 

<U 

< 

< 

S 

H 

o 

O 

< 

a 

O 

F-i 


